Filling the void of well-trained occupational medicine physicians: a challenge for the 1990s.

Occupational Medicine is a vibrant, rapidly expanding medical specialty. Many reports and studies have emphasized the increasing demand for occupational medicine physicians. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge regarding the field among the general public and within the medical community as well functions as a major stumbling block to the growth of our profession. Occupational medicine needs to attract young physicians into accredited training programs. Assuring that these programs exist, are properly funded, and provide quality training are, of course, important first steps. The efforts of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which provides residency accreditation, and the American College of Occupational Medicine (ACOM), which administers the Occupational Physicians Scholarship Fund, are significant and essential. It is equally vital, however, that there be a pool of qualified applicants for these training positions. We address the issue of attracting physicians to accredited occupational medicine training programs and offer several practical recommendations to help achieve this goal.

The need for occupational health nurses in nonindustrial settings. Results of a national survey.

A survey was done to determine the current and future demand for occupational health nurses in the nonindustrial settings of multi-specialty group medical practices and HMOs in the U.S. The results regarding future demand indicate a growth rate for the number of positions for occupational health nurses in these settings at greater than 300% in the coming decade. The present low number of graduates from occupational health nursing education programs make it unlikely that this demand can be met, a situation which will have serious adverses consequences for the health of the American work force.

Occupational health services in non-industrial settings in the US: a review.

The provision of occupational health services at sites other than the workplace has undergone considerable expansion in recent years in the United States. These alternate sources of occupational health services include hospital-based clinics, free-standing clinics, corporate health programs, urgent care centers, group practices, and health maintenance organizations. These additional sources of occupational health care hold the promise of making a significant contribution toward reducing the still considerable burden of occupational illness and injury in the US. However, serious problems relating to the nature, quantity, and quality of care provided in these settings remain. This paper reviews the literature on occupational health services in these non-industrial settings and explores their potential promise and problems.

Current and future needs for occupational medicine physicians in nonindustrial settings: a survey of multispecialty group medical practices and health maintenance organizations.

The provision of occupational health services by multispecialty group medical practices and health maintenance organizations has received relatively little attention to date. To address this issue, a mail questionnaire survey of a random sample of these organizations around the country was conducted. Particular attention was focused on the current use of and future need for occupational medicine physicians and occupational health nurses in these settings. Results from the sample respondents indicate that these sites are playing a significant and increasing role in the provision of occupational health services with a projected approximate three-fold increase in the number of positions for occupational health professionals in these settings over the next decade. Assuming that these results are reflective of the situation nationwide, it is unlikely that the demand for these professionals will be met by current levels of graduate training.