Occupational Medicine Residency

Housed within the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health in the College of Public Health and administered by the Graduate Medical Education Office in the College of Medicine, the OMR program offers extensive opportunities for interactions and collaborations across a wide range of medical and public health disciplines.

The program is innovative in that it is positioned to address longstanding occupational health and safety issues in the central Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and western North Carolina.

Kentucky and the Appalachian region of the United States present unique opportunities for residents to make substantial and transformative contributions to regional health care and infrastructure development.

The goals for Occupational Medicine Residency (OMR) core include:

• All graduating residents will pursue a career in occupational medicine inclusive of academics, research, hospital-based practice, solo/group practice, or government position.

• Practice continuous quality improvement and updating of current clinical and public health practicum rotations in line with ACGME requirements and American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) guidance statements.

• Pursue expanded rotation opportunities which emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to worker health and safety including establishment of Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (KY OSH) rotation with mandatory resident participation.

• Initiate and establish a Program Letter of Agreement with OSHA for their “Occupational Medicine Resident Elective” to make the rotation an optional elective for residents.

• Function as an interdisciplinary medical resource for occupational safety and health, collaborating on interdisciplinary training, continuing education, and support for research studies.

• Emphasize appropriate mentoring of residents during their MPH capstone project experience with a goal of a publishable output and presentation at national conferences.

• Work to improve the research skills of our residents with a focus on regional workers and clinical evaluation of the health and safety hazards they face.