Discover Occupational Medicine!
Midcareer Entry into Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Occupational medicine boasts one of the lowest burnout and highest satisfaction rates of all medical specialties. Many physicians enter occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) later in their career because they find themselves seeing more and more patients for clinical evaluation and treatment for injuries and illnesses that are occupationally or environmentally related.
American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) certification in OEM is not required to practice occupational medicine or to join ACOEM. A wide variety of career opportunities are available for OEM physicians and other health professionals who enter the specialty midcareer.
Where are opportunities for OEM physicians?
- Occupational and environmental medicine physicians are important to corporations, group practices, hospitals, consulting firms, and educational institutions.
- Federal and state government service, including the military, offers additional opportunities for careers in OEM.
- Epidemiologic, toxicologic, and clinical research is performed in government facilities, academic institutions, and corporate research centers, often on a contract basis.
What are the benefits of an OEM career?
- Intellectually challenging
- Ability to impact populations and costs by preventing disease and injury
- Diverse practice settings from corporate office to industrial plants and everywhere in between
- A good balance of clinical and administrative work
- Practicing cost-effective care Good work life balance (high satisfaction and low burnout rate)
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