Division of Occupational Medicine (Drs Green-McKenzie, Vearrier, and Emmett) and Department of Emergency Medicine (Drs Green-McKenzie, Emmett, and Shofer), University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Occupational Health at Lima Memorial Health System, Lima, Ohio (Dr Savanoor); University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada (Dr Duran); Gadsden County Urgent Care, LLC, Quincy, Florida (Dr Jones); Florida State Hospital, Chattahoochee, Florida (Dr Jones); Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi (Dr Vearrier); and General Occupational Medicine, Mercy Hospital, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Malak).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021;27(Suppl 3):S200-S205. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001315.
There is a long-standing shortage of formally trained Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM) physicians despite OEM practitioners experiencing high satisfaction and low burnout.
To explore the root causes of this shortage and suggest potential remedies.
Cross-sectional surveys were administered to medical students queried regarding OEM training, practicing OEM physicians queried regarding timing of specialty choice, and OEM Train-in-Place (TIP) program graduates queried regarding satisfaction with training.
Of 247 medical student respondents, 70% had heard of OEM, 60% through one lecture. Of the 160 OEM physicians, 17% first became aware of OEM as medical students, and most would have chosen a different path had they heard sooner. Most TIP program trainees reported that they would not have undertaken specialty training without a TIP program (89%).
Strategies to introduce OEM earlier in medical education and TIP programs for mid-career physicians may help overcome persistent shortages of OEM specialists.
尽管职业与环境卫生医学（OEM）从业者满意度高、职业倦怠率低，但该领域仍长期面临着经过正规培训的医生短缺的问题。
探讨造成这种短缺的根本原因，并提出潜在的补救措施。
对医学生进行横断面调查，询问他们关于 OEM 培训的情况；对从事 OEM 工作的医生进行调查，询问他们选择专业的时间；对 OEM 在岗培训（TIP）项目的毕业生进行调查，询问他们对培训的满意度。
在 247 名接受调查的医学生中，有 70%听说过 OEM，其中 60%是通过一次讲座听说的。在 160 名从事 OEM 工作的医生中，17%是在医学生时期第一次了解到 OEM，大多数人表示如果能更早了解这一领域，他们可能会选择其他职业道路。大多数 TIP 项目的受训者表示，如果没有 TIP 项目，他们不会接受专科培训（89%）。
在医学教育中更早引入 OEM 以及为职业中期医生设立 TIP 项目的策略，可能有助于克服 OEM 专科医生持续短缺的问题。
