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Iowa Physician to Lead Nation’s Largest Occupational Medicine Society

On May 4, 2022, Douglas W. Martin, MD, FACOEM, FAADEP, FAAFP, a renowned expert in disability evaluation with emphasis on evidence-based medicine, was installed as President of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the nation’s largest medical society dedicated to promoting the health of workers through preventive medicine, clinical care, research, and education. The installation ceremony took place at the 106th annual membership meeting held during the College’s 2022 American Occupational Health Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Martin is Medical Director for UnityPoint Health – St Luke’s Occupational Medicine in Sioux City, Iowa. He received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine in Omaha. Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), Dr. Martin is also certified as a medical review officer (MRO), a Federal Aviation Administration senior aviation medical examiner (AME), and a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration commercial driver medical examiner. He is also an immigration civil surgeon and a Social Security Disability Examiner for Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Dr. Martin’s areas of expertise include musculoskeletal disorders, impairment ratings, return-to-work determinations, and causation analysis. He is a past president of the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on Education, and Vice Chair of the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association. He is co-chair of the AMA Guides® Editorial Panel and has authored chapters in the AMA’s Guides to the Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation, Guides to the Evaluation of Work Ability and Return to Work, and Guides to Navigating Disability Benefit Systems. He is also past Foundation President (2012-2015) of the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians, and currently serves on the Academy’s Education Committee. Since 1995, he has volunteered his medical expertise as Medical Staff for the War Eagle District of the Boy Scouts of America.

A member of ACOEM since 1994, Dr. Martin was elevated to Fellowship in 2000. Prior to becoming President, he served as President-Elect, Vice President, member of the Board of Directors, and Speaker of the House of Delegates. He also served on numerous College committees including the Fellowship Examiners Committee, the Coding Task Force, and the Bylaws Committee.

In 2013, ACOEM bestowed upon Dr. Martin the Meritorious Service Award for his contributions as chair of the Medical Review Officers Section and the Clinical Practice Committee, secretary/ treasurer of the Private Practice Section, and course director for Musculoskeletal Diseases and the Core Curriculum. In addition, Dr. Martin was also cited for his contributions and specialized knowledge in assisting ACOEM to receive ACCME “Accreditation with Commendation” status. Dr. Martin is also a member of the Central States OEMA, an ACOEM component society.

Founded in 1916, ACOEM is the pre-eminent physician-led organization that champions the health of workers, safety of workplaces, and quality of environments. This dynamic group of more than 3,000 occupational medicine physicians and associated health professionals is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., in the northwest Chicagoland area.
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Contact information: Marianne Dreger, ACOEM, mdreger@acoem.org