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Mission Statement
The Rutgers Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM) Residency program trains physicians in the science and practice of occupational and environmental medicine. Its graduates are practitioners, leaders, and educators who advance the recognition, management and prevention of illness and injury caused or influenced by agents or conditions in the home, community, and workplace environment.
Our program is dedicated to producing outstanding graduates who are not only competent practitioners in the specialty, but also advance the field of occupational and environmental medicine.
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Our OEM residency provides two years of clinical and academic training necessary to qualify graduates to sit for the American Board of Preventive Medicine’s board examination in Occupational Medicine.
History
The Rutgers program (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ—Rutgers Medical School) was founded by Michael Gochfeld, M.D., Ph.D. and received ACGME accreditation in April 1983. Since that time, the training program has graduated many leaders and practitioners in OEM. Rutgers OEM graduates are successful corporate executives and presidents, medical directors, governmental leaders, consultants, staff physicians, academics, and private practitioners.
Didactics
Much of the program’s didactic training comes from participation and successful completion of a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in the concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health. Non-credit on-site and online coursework, modules, and other requirements beyond the MPH degree, provide added depth to the educational experience. Individuals who already have an MPH or equivalent degree, must take additional coursework that qualifies them to sit for the OEM specialty boards. The additional coursework is applied toward the Certificate in Environmental and Occupational Health.
Accreditation Status
The Rutgers Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The program resides within the Rutgers School of Public Health which is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
Location
The residency program is physically housed within the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Institute is about 45 miles southwest of Manhattan, New York City.
EOHSI
EOHSI is a global resource that supports basic and clinical research in the environmental health sciences with special focus on exposure assessment. EOHSI’s faculty are also engaged in environmental health education, public policy, and environmental justice. The residency program home is within EOHSI’s Division of Clinical Research and Occupational Medicine.
The residency program is located on EOHSI’s second floor. Residents have their own room across from the Michael Gochfeld Library of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Faculty maintain their offices on both the first and second floors of the Institute and are easily accessible to residents. The EOHSI Clinic is on the first floor. Clinics are engaged in employee health and medical surveillance activities. The EOHSI clinic site is also a World Trade Center Monitoring Center of Excellence.
Training
Training is overseen by the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Occupational and environmental medicine residents are enrolled in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency track at the Rutgers SPH— a five-minute walk from EOHSI. Many SPH faculty, especially those in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice, are involved in the MPH education of the OEM residents.
Admission
Exceptional candidates may be considered after completion of a clinical internship or transitional year (PGY-1). Admission preference is given to trainees who have completed a primary care residency such as Internal Medicine, Family Practice, and Emergency Medicine. The residency serves as if it were a fellowship for these trainees.
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