22 - Education in Occupational Health

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses training and education in occupational health. An academic course in occupational medicine is an important part of specialist training, and its content is markedly similar in different countries. The main topics covered are history and legislation, aims and functions of occupational health services, occupational diseases, work physiology, psychology and toxicology, the measurement and control of the physical environment, ergonomics, statistics, epidemiology, and practical instruction. These include attendance at clinics, factories, and rehabilitation and research centers. There is also a need for short intensive courses to introduce the basic principles of occupational health practice to part-time physicians, who in many countries constitute the majority of doctors in this field of medicine. Such training may be provided through weekend courses, seminars, lectures on tapes with slides, and films. The demand for postgraduate training in occupational hygiene is growing rapidly but is still not as great as that for occupational medicine. The courses aim to teach methods of investigating, evaluating, and controlling environmental hazards. A part of the course is common for both physicians and hygienists. Such combined teaching presents difficulties of organization; however, there are many advantages because with student participation, the viewpoints of both disciplines can be freely expressed and physicians and hygienists can gain a better understanding of their respective roles.