Institute of Occupational & Environmental Health

Overview:

Occupational Medicine, a specialty of the American Board of Preventive Medicine since 1955, has gained wider recognition in the past decade. Awareness of the potential health implications of exposure to occupational and environmental hazards has furthered the demand for residency trained specialists. Considerable opportunities are open for the well-trained graduate in the government, academic, corporate and university sectors.

The West Virginia University School of Medicine and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), through the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, sponsor graduate medical education in the rapidly expanding field of occupational and environmental health. Our program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and funded through a NIOSH Training Program Grant. Residents are provided with a stipend, MPH tuition support, and additional travel and expense support.

Residents must complete an academic year, which leads to the Masters of Public Health degree (unless an MPH was previously earned). This is followed by a practicum year with rotations in industry, government and hospital-based practice. Residents are encouraged to use the practicum year to test their interests for career options. When given sufficient notice, new rotation sites can be arranged to satisfy individual resident needs.

The program has close ties with a large National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) facility, which is situated on our campus. Residents have the opportunity to work closely with NIOSH investigators on ongoing research projects and participate in nation-wide Health Hazard Evaluations.

The clinical practice through the Institute is one of the busiest academic occupational medicine clinics nationally, with upwards of 200 patients being seen each month. Residents can gain expertise in the full spectrum of clinical occupational medicine practice, including acute injury care, workers' compensation management, independent medical evaluations, and consultations in toxicology. Its success has led it into coordinated consulting programs with other partners from West Virginia University, including industrial hygiene, safety and environmental management, and extension services. Additionally, the Institute serves as a consultant to the Division of Workers' Compensation of the State of West Virginia, and is uniquely positioned to effect major changes to the way in which work-related injuries and illnesses are managed. A new program of outreach to small business in West Virginia will improve educational experiences for students and residents in a "real-world" environment, as well as boost public health within the state.