Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) Residency Program website. The OEM Residency is housed in the Department of Emergency Medicine and supported by core and adjunct faculty, the department chair, GME leadership and staff, program coordinators, as well as other institutional support. The program has been in existence at UPENN since 1999, after being initially housed at Thomas Jefferson Medical Center (1997-1999). This unique, innovative, train-in-place OEM Residency was created in response to the National Academy of Medicine’s call in 2000 to develop new routes to OEM certification.
With 174 graduates as of October 2024, this program is designed to train mid-career physicians who desire formal training in occupational medicine, and it has expanded to train recent medical school graduates as well. The program, with measurable outcomes, prepares trainees for the comprehensive practice of occupational medicine in a variety of settings including academia, hospital based clinics, free-standing occupational medicine practice, private practice, corporate settings, public health programs, governmental agencies and legal or regulatory authorities. It 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. Program graduates contribute to moving the field of OEM and comprised ~ 8% of the new American Board of Preventive Medicine diplomates over the past decade. Graduates scored competitively on the certifying examination, achieved all milestones, expressed satisfaction with training and were geographically dispersed, representing every region of the United States. Most practice outside of the 25 largest standard metropolitan statistical areas, and more than 95% remain in the field.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our program. We hope that you enjoy exploring our website.
Program overview
The program is designed to provide structured, supervised training and experiences to ensure that residents achieve competency in all areas required for the American Board of Preventive Medicine Examination in Occupational Medicine (ABPM-OM) and for the specialist practice of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM). The program also addresses the competencies specified by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for Residency Training in Preventive Medicine – Occupational Medicine and the core competencies identified by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Additionally, there is emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in leadership and organizational management.
The program consists of two interrelated components, a didactic component and an applied clinical component. Both components work in tandem to help residents meet the requirements to sit the ABPM-OM exam, and to allow acquisition of all ACGME Milestones, as well as ACOEM, ACGME and program competencies for Occupational Medicine. Qualified applicants have completed at least 1 clinical year and have an MPH or equivalent degree, or a plan for completing the degree prior to graduation, in keeping with ACGME requirements.
There are two tracks: Internal Track (IT) and External Track (ET). The UPENN ET helps overcome barriers that deter otherwise motivated physicians from specialist training. It provides supervised practicum training for residents employed full-time in occupational medicine practice, most at community-based clinical training sites (CTS). Both years are competency-based where the outcome measures focus on the achievement of specific measureable competencies rather than mainly on the amount of time spent on the desired skill, in keeping with the ACGME Milestones program.
The IT is designed for more recent medical school graduates and provides residents the opportunity to complete rotations at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania OEM clinic, the affiliated Philadelphia VA Medical Center and other affiliated organizations, governmental agencies and industries. However, mid-career physicians have participated in both tracks.
There are five subject area rotations (SAR) for each of the trainee years, both the OM1 and OM2, and each SAR has specific measureable competencies. There are also seven longitudinal courses offered over the course of the residency. The curriculum includes experiential learning, production of and presentation of supervised projects (including quality improvement and safety projects), direct observation of each resident in various settings, and formative and summative feedback at multiple points. Rotation directors are diplomats of the ABPM and national experts in the area covered by the rotation for which they are responsible. We also have several faculty members who direct the SAR component.
Subject Area Rotations (SAR) and Didactic Activities: During the first year (OM1) residents undertake an intensive 3-day per month didactic program at UPENN in Philadelphia arranged around five 2-month long competency training rotations. Residents will meet on a successive Thursday, Friday and Saturday each month with the dates set prior to matriculation. Each session provides approximately 30 hours of direct teaching. For each of these five competency-based SARs, residents must complete a substantive project demonstrating competence in application of skills necessary for OEM specialist practice. The second year curriculum consists of six 1-month long SARs and two non-credit graduate level courses. The OM2 year builds upon the first, stressing the acquisition of advanced knowledge and skills, with opportunities for the residents to pursue individual interests relevant to OEM.
The clinical rotation competency objectives, arranged into six sets of clinical core competencies, required by the ACGME, are achieved through supervised clinical training at the approved CTS. Overall, all the competency objectives for the program are framed to meet the demands of contemporary OEM. The UPENN program places an additional emphasis on Organizational and Healthcare Management, preparing our residents for leadership positions in OEM where they will be tasked with managing the health of populations, whether in a corporate, hospital, clinical or government setting. Both cohorts must complete their clinical work at approved CTS where suitably qualified, and board-certified preventive medicine physicians, whose credentials are reviewed as a part of the resident’s application process, serve as the CTS supervisor.
General requirements for prospective applicants
The residency program operates on a rolling admissions schedule. All decisions of acceptance are made after the completion of the application process. Positions are awarded to qualified candidates on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any questions, please inquire with the Residency Coordinator, Jamie Curran, at OCCMedResidency@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Prior to appointment in the program, residents must have:
- Successfully completed at least 12 months of clinical education in a residency accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Counsel of Graduate Medical Education), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
- Clinical experience must include at least 11 months of direct patient care in both the in-patient and out-patient settings.
- Candidates will be expected to possess a Masters in Public Health or equivalent master’s degree.
Individuals who do not meet this requirement are expected to be actively enrolled with the goal of completing the degree prior to the completion of the 2nd year of the program. Actively enrolled candidates must have successfully completed or have almost completed all the core courses required by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (Biostatistics; Epidemiology; Environmental and Occupational Health; Health Services Organization and Administration and a course on Social and Behavioral Influences on Health).
Some applicants learn of the program at different stages of their career which includes prior to completing a Masters or other requirements. If an interest exists, please reach out to the Residency Coordinator If questions arise, please contact us as many successful applicants have achieved the requirements in a period of time prior to being accepted into the program.
If you have any questions please inquire with the Residency Coordinator OCCMedResidency@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Dept. of Emergency Medicine
3400 Spruce Street, Ground Ravdin
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Occupational and environmental residency curriculum
Year 1: Competency subject area rotations — three days per month
| Month | Rotation |
|---|---|
| Aug/Sept | The Workplace: Industrial Hygiene, Safety & Ergonomics |
| Oct/Nov | Organizational Management |
| Dec/Jan | Environmental Health: Risk Hazard Communication & Control |
| Feb/Mar | Population Based Occupational Medicine |
| Apr/May | The Worker: Disability & Work Fitness |
| June | Bridging Month: Intro. to the 2nd year curriculum |
Year 2: Competency subject area rotations & experiences
| Second Year Project |
| Mindfulness, Leadership, Resiliency and Team Building |
| Industrial Hygiene II: Clinical Exposure Assessment |
| Advanced & Emerging Topics in Organizational Management |
| Career & Personal Development/Negotiation/Travel Medicine |
| Disaster Management & Emergency Preparedness |
Courses & didactic sessions for residents
| Clinical Toxicology (OM1) | Drs. Tepper & Vearrier |
| Occupational Epidemiology (OM1&2) | Dr. Shofer |
| Critical Review of the Occupational & Environmental Health Literature (OM 1 & 2) |
Drs. Emmett, Shofer, Tepper & Savul |
| Research Methods Course & Second Year Project (OM 1 & 2) | Dr. Shofer |
| Clinical Occupational Medicine (OM 1 & 2) | Dr. Savul |
| Noon-time Informal Clinical Case Discussions (OM 1 & 2) | All clinical faculty |