Resident Research & Accomplishments
The Occupational Medicine program prepares trainees for the comprehensive practice of occupational medicine in a variety of settings including academia, hospital based clinics, free-standing occupational medicine practices, private practices, corporate settings, public health programs, governmental agencies and legal or regulatory authorities. The program is designed to provide structured, supervised training and experience to ensure that residents achieve competency in the areas required of the American Council on Graduate Education (ACGME), the American Board of Preventive Medicine Examination in Occupational Medicine (APBM-OM) and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) for the specialist practice in OEM.After receiving training at our residency program, our residents go on to become professors, heads of departments, and leaders of academic and business organizations. The diversity of training offered at our program, along with the mentorship received from our distinguished staff, means that residents can work in numerous areas and contribute to the field of occupational medicine in a variety of ways.
During their time in the program, our residents achieve numerous accomplishments. We have had 5 residents in the past six years win the Resident Research Award at the American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC). Other recent research awards are the Best Innovations in Medical Education Abstract at Penn Medicine’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) Health Equity Week and two pilot grants from the Prevention Research Center. Additionally, during their time in our program, our residents complete multiple projects that study and respond to vital issues in the national and international occupational medicine community.
After graduating from our program, former residents go on to advance the field of occupational medicine. As faculty members, our graduates have academic appointments at Meharry Medical College, Drexel College of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, and Forest General Hospital. As leaders at health systems, hospitals and other companies, our alumni serve in various roles, such as the Medical Director of Employee Health Services at Lehigh Valley Network, the Department Chair of Occupational Medicine at the McFarland Clinic, the System Medical Director at Geisenger Health, an elected board member for the Allentown Health Bureau Board of Health and the Director of Health Services and Chief Health Officer for Dow Chemical Company. As researchers, our residents have published their groundbreaking work in the field of OEM, focusing on topics like hazardous drug surveillance, diabetes incentive programs, and improving care for workers’ compensation cases so that it is more patient-centered. Additionally, we have graduates who hold national leadership positions for committees through the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). International work includes advancing the practice of occupational medicine abroad through work with the EBOLA preparedness steering committee and the creation of an "Ebola" kit for employees working in Niger, Africa.