Occupational medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases caused by hazards that people encounter on the job or at their workplace. Health care providers in this specialty may work independently, or for a hospital or clinic. Others may have jobs with a large company, providing care for its employees. Most specialists in occupational medicine treat workplace-related injuries and illnesses. They also focus on prevention and education for employers and employees, working to reduce or eliminate problems by modifying the work environment.
Two important tools of occupational medicine are epidemiology and toxicology. Epidemiology is the science of investigating the causes, distribution, and control of disease by studying groups of affected people. Toxicology is the study of poisonous materials and their effects on living things.
Health care providers in occupational medicine are always on the alert to identify diseases caused by chemicals or industrial processes. For example, one physician noticed that several workers with a rare type of liver cancer worked with vinyl chloride, a gas used to make plastic. Using epidemiologic techniques, he showed that the workers’ exposure to vinyl chloride caused this cancer. Companies worldwide took steps to prevent the disease by reducing workers’ exposure to the gas.
By using knowledge of toxicology, occupational medicine specialists try to predict the diseases that chemicals could cause. Then they tell companies that use the chemicals how to protect their employees. These employees undergo periodic testing to ensure that they are not getting sick from their exposure at work. Because the physicians identify the hazards, companies can take steps to prevent disease by reducing exposure and monitoring workers’ health.
This focus on the health of both the individual and the group is a special feature of preventive medicine, the branch of medicine concerned with prevention of disease. This combined approach distinguishes an occupational medicine specialist from the other medical specialists. Specialists in occupational medicine can save lives by identifying the cause of a disease and then sharing their discovery.
Occupational medicine is a recognized specialty in many countries, and the demand for specialists is great. A health care workerr who decides to specialize in occupational medicine receives advanced training in toxicology, epidemiology, statistical methods, and public health. The health care workerr can then become certified by meeting the requirements of national authorities.
