Occupational & Environmental Medicine

Residency

Mission Statement

Since our first year in 1997-1998, we have been dedicated to raising practicum year residency training in Occupational Medicine to a new level, through educational innovation and teaching excellence.  We train physicians who have already developed their general clinical proficiency, to attain the competencies and skills that will ensure success in contemporary Occupational and Environmental Medicine practice.  We emphasize training to a high level in skills that add value to practice, as well as in leadership and management. The program is accredited, supported by a training grant from NIOSH, and has a superior record measured by a variety of outcomes.  We relentlessly pursue a policy of continuous improvement.

The residency has two tracks.  An external track for physicians employed full-time in occupational medicine: applicants should have completed academic year requirements (MPH or equivalent) and be employed at a location that offers suitable training opportunities, resources and supervision grant.  An internal track for residents who will be employed at the University of Pennsylvania medical Center: appointment requires prior completion of a clinical training program (such as Internal, Family or Emergency Medicine or other), and an MPH or equivalent degree. 

Program Graduates have successful careers in clinical practice, corporate Occupational Medicine, Academic Medical Centers and government.

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

» Residency News

» Prospective Applicants

» Core Faculty List

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Residency News

Dr. Marc Leffer (Former Resident 07-08) Washington Post Article May 24, 2009

Dr. Judith McKenzie Promoted to Associate Professor

We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Judith McKenzie Associate Director of the Occupational Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.  In addition to her clinical and teaching responsibilities, Dr. McKenzie has authored over 40 scientific papers in the last 5 years.

Penn Occupational Medicine Residency at the NORA Conference

Drs. Emmett & McKenzie presented a paper and poster exhibit at the National Occupational Research Agenda Tenth Year Anniversary in Washington D.C. on April 18-19, 2006 entitled "Academic-Community Partnership Practicum Year Training Program for Occupational Medicine Residents".  This was the only accepted paper on the professional training sponsored by NIOSH.  The paper highlighted a number of educational innovations developed for the residency.

PENN Occupational Medicine Resident Receives Research Award

Dr. Jerry Strohkorb has been selected for one of five Resident Research Awards and to present his paper "Cardiac Risk Reduction of Firefighters through a Formal Wellness Policy" at the American Occupational Health Conference to be held May 7-10, 2006 in Los Angeles California. 

Dr. Strohkorb performed this study in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Population Occupational Medicine Rotation.

Congratulations to Dr. Strohkorb.

PENN Resident to Make Research Presentation Poster

Dr. Scott Morris from our 2004-2005 Practicum Year Class will be presenting a poster of his research project "Commercial Motor Vehicles Crash Involvement Rate Before and After Revision of the US Hours of Service Regulations at the upcoming American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) 2006 in Los Angeles.  Posters will be available for viewing by conference attendees from Sunday May 7th at 5:30pm through Monday May 8th at 7:00pm in the AOHC Exhibit Hall at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.  Dr. Morris completed this study as part of the requirements for the Population Based Occupational Medicine Rotation for his residency training.

Resident Receives Research Grant

MyLinn Sawyer, MD, MPH a resident in the 2005-2006 Practicum Year Class has been awarded a pilot research grant from NIOSH through the John Hopkins Education and Research Center for her proposal "Does Mandatory Overtime Increase Occupational Injuries at an Automotive Assembly Plant.  Dr. MyLinn Sawyer will be doing this project during her Population Based Occupational Medicine Rotation.

Availability of Resident Positions for 2009-2010

The University of Pennsylvania Medical Center announces the following Occupational Medicine Residency Training Positions commencing in July 2008. Training is organized around required professional competencies and is designed to develop leaders with a high-level of the skills required for success. The program is accredited, supported by a training grant from NIOSH, and has a superior record for educational and career outcomes measured in a variety of ways. 

Up to eight external track practicum year positions are available for physicians employed full-time in occupational medicine.  Applicants should have completed academic year requirements (MPH or equivalent) and be employed at a location that offers suitable training opportunities, resources and supervision.  Residents must make monthly visits to Philadelphia, and work with University of Pennsylvania Occupational Medicine Faculty. Partial stipend support may be available on a competitive basis, to selected applicants through the NIOSH training grant.  These awards are based on criteria of community and personal need

Up to one full-time position at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. This position is suitable for a physician with a superior record, seeking a career with a strong emphasis in academia/ research. Appointment requires prior completion of an ACGME accredited clinical training program (such as Internal, Family or Emergency Medicine). Applicants may already have an MPH or equivalent degree, if not the resident will also be required to complete the MPH degree at the University of Pennsylvania. A range of attractive rotations is available within the Medical Center, the Wharton School, industry, and government.  Candidates for this position are encouraged to discuss specific research interests with the Program Director. 

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.  Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Program information and/or application packages are available from
Edward A. Emmett, MD by email: emmetted@mail.med.upenn.edu;
telephone: 215-349-5708 or facsimile 215-662-4430.

Program Accreditation Update

We were notified on April 14, 2008 by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education that the Residency Review Committee awarded the Occupational Medicine Residency Program at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center the status of Continuing Accreditation effective March 27, 2008. The program will be site visited again by the ACGME in approximately March 2013.

Performance of Penn Occupational Medicine Residents on the American Board of Preventive Medicine Examinations (1998-2005)

As part of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Occupational Medicine Residency Quality Assurance Program, we recently examined the results achieved on the American Board of Preventive Medicine Occupational Medicine (ABPM-OM) Examination. Results of residents from the Penn program were compared with those obtained by Occupational Physicians Scholarship Fund (OPSF) scholars.

OPSF scholars were chosen for comparison because they are a specially selected nationwide group who are considered to represent the very best group of applicants to Occupational Medicine Residency Programs.

Both groups performed much better than the average of residency-trained physicians taking the ABPM-OM examination.

The performance of Penn Residents and OPSF Residents over the period for which scores were available for analysis (1998 through 2004 examinations) was reasonably similar. On the average OPSF scholars performed marginally better in the Preventive Medicine Core portion of the examination, Penn residents performed better in the Occupational Medicine portion of the examination by a similar margin. When both scores were combined Penn residents scored better than OPSF scholars for 4 of the seven years, OPSF scholars for 3 years. These results were interpreted as attesting to the quality of the Penn program. Further analysis by subject area did not reveal any areas of serious deficiency.

Former Residents

Dr. Ramon J. Terrazas, a graduate from the 2006-2007 residency year has accepted a position as Fire Surgeon for the San Francisco Fire Department and voted in as a Director for the San Francisco Fire Fighters Cancer Prevention Foundation Board of Directors. Dr. Terrazas was also elected to the WOEMA Board of Directors.

Dr. Nancy Rodway, a graduate from the 2005-2006 residency year, have accepted a position as Clinical Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Occupational Medicine. Dr. Rodway will be integral in the planning and development of a Center for Occupational Excellence for Occupational Clinical Medicine, Research and Education.

Dr. Brian Bennett, a graduate from the 2005-2006 residency year, has accepted a position as Corporate Medical Director with the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation located in Stratford, Connecticut.

Dr. Madelynn Azar-Cavanagh, a graduate from the 2000-2001 residency year was listed in the San Diego Magazines among the Top Doctors in San Diego and recently in the Guide to America's Top Physicians.

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Prospective Applicants

Application Forms

Internal Track

External Track

Competency Objectives:

 

Program Description

Residency Session Dates 2009– 2010

2009

July 9-11, 2009: Introductory Session
August 27-29 2009: Workplace: Hazard Recognition, Evaluation & Control
September 24-26 2009: Workplace: Hazard Recognition, Evaluation & Control
October 22-24 2009: Environmental Health & Risk Management
November 19-21 2009: Environmental Health & Risk Management
December 10-12 2009: Organizational Management

2010

January 21-23 2010: Organizational Management
February 25-27 2010: Population Based Occupational Medicine
March 25-27 2010: Population Based Occupational Medicine
April 15-17 2010: Worker: Disability & Work Fitness
May 13-15 2010: Worker: Disability & Work Fitness
June 17-19 2010: Closing Session

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CORE FACULTY LIST

Revised 8/09

Residency Director

Edward A. Emmett, M.D., M.S.
Professor & Director of Academic Programs Occupational Medicine
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Department of Occupational Medicine, GR Silverstein
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA  19104
emmetted@mail.med.upenn.edu
215-349-5708
215-662-4430 Fax

Associate Director

Judith McKenzie, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor, Occupational Medicine
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Department of Occupational Medicine, GR Silverstein
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA  19104
jmckenzi@mail.med.upenn.edu
215-662-4439
215-662-4430 Fax

Subject-area Rotation Supervisors

The Workplace, Hazard Identification, Evaluation & Control

Jeffrey Erinoff, D.O., M.P.H.
Medical Director
SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
jerinoff@septa.org

Environmental Health, Risk Assessment & Risk Communication

Philip G. Lewis, M.D., M.P.H.
Yardley, Pennsylvania
philglewis@aol.com

Organizational and Health Care Management

Edward A. Emmett, M.D., M.S.

Marcia Comstock, M.D., M.P.H.
 President
Comstock Consulting Group
1157 Lafayette Road
Wayne, PA  19087

Population Based Occupational Medicine

Lloyd Tepper, M.D., Sc.D
Retired Corporate Medical Director
Air Products Corporation

Frances S. Shofer, Ph.D
Professor and Research Director
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of North Carolina
fshofer@med.unc.edu

Judith McKenzie, M.D., M.P.H

The Worker, Disability & Work Fitness

Robert Bonner, M.D., M.P.H. 
Medical Director and Vice President, Claim Medical
The Hartford Group
690 Asylum Ave. T5-96
Hartford, CT  06115

Elizabeth Genovese, M.D., M.B.A
Medical Director
IMX Medical Management Services
Two Bala Plaza, Suite 600
Bala Cynwyd, PA  19004

Natalie Hartenbaum, M.D., M.P.H.
Chief Medical Officer
OccuMedix
P.O. Box 197
Dresher, PA 19025

Faculty, Occupational Medicine Clinic, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Amy Behrman, M.D. 
Associate Professor
Medical Director of Occ. Medicine
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Department of Occ. Medicine, GR Silverstein
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA  19104

Site Supervising Faculty

Site Supervising faculty are appointed for each of the clinical training sites used by the Program.

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Links

American Board of Preventive Medicine

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

Graduate Medical Education Office for the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School

Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine

Journal Article OM Residency Training Program University of Pennsylvania

Occupational Physicians Scholarship Fund (OPSF)

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)

Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC)

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