Occupational medicine in the basic curriculum

Authors: Petar Bulat

Publish Date: 2013/02/22

Volume: 16, Issue: 10, Pages: 432-436

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Abstract

Even if there are a limited number of publications on occupational medicine OM teaching in the basic medical curriculum it is obvious that in OM teaching there are substantial differences on the national as well as the international level In a number of countries there are schools of medicine that do not provide OM teaching at all or only 1–2 hours which has about the same effect On the other hand and mainly in former Eastern European countries OM plays a much more significant role in curricula with 30 to 45 hours up to 60 hours of educationApart from the number of hours there are large differences in topics covered during OM teaching In some countries or more precisely in some universities the focus of OM teaching is on classical occupational diseases with little or no hours spent on prevention It might be worrying that only a limited number of universities provides teaching on occupational health risks in the health care sectorIt is also important to mention differences in practical teaching of OM and in examination Some universities provide only classical ex cathedra teaching while the others are offering seminars practicing and OM internships The examination of OM varies from none in most universities to a written plus an oral examination eg Italy and Serbia There is a number of different options for OM teaching in the future OM could be a standalone course or a part of occupational and environmental health There is also a nice opportunity for incorporating part of OM teaching concerning occupational and workrelated diseases as well as to work capacity assessment in other clinical disciplinesBased on the presented facts it is obvious that OM teaching is being neglected and even downsized in a number of universities On the other hand there is an increasing need for OM knowledge in the daily practice of medical doctors So there is much work to do for national occupational health leaders as well as for international occupational health organizations such as the International Commission on Occupational Health ICOH the WHO and others They can present this issue to local university authorities and help them to develop appropriate OM curricula There is an obvious need for more and intense international collaboration in developing OM core curricula which might be organized with the ICOH and WHO sponsorship

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