[Perception of the Occupational Medicine discipline by graduate medical students of the University of Modena before and after taking the course during the academic year 1994-1995].

Until recently, the course in Occupational Medicine was not compulsory for medical students. The introduction of Occupational Medicine in the curriculum as a mandatory course may have caused uncertainty among the students in clearly and correctly identifying the discipline and its role in professional training. The aim of the study was to investigate how the students attending the course in Occupational Medicine at the Medical School of the University of Modena in the academic year 1995-95 perceived this discipline. Fifty-eight 5th year students (out of 76) were administered a questionnaire, before and after the course, in order to check their awareness of the relationship between work, environment and health, their knowledge about the functions of the occupational health specialist, their opinion about the cultural and professional link of Occupational Medicine with other disciplines. The results showed that: (i) students were fully aware of the relationship between working conditions and health, knowledge of which is considered important in the training of the general practitioner; (ii) students correctly indicated the main functions of the occupational health physician which were better defined after attendance of the course; (iii) after the course, students emphasized the cultural and professional links of the discipline with epidemiology, hygiene, forensic medicine, internal medicine and pneumology; (iv) students' expectations of the curriculum mainly regarded occupational diseases and their prevention, and the study of the relationship between health and work; (v) students suggested overlapping of subjects and they believed it was correct for the course to be taken in the 5th year.