Occupational Health & Public Health
Further details on the national programmes for Occupational and Public Health training
Occupational Health Medicine
Occupational Medicine is the branch of clinical medicine most active in the field of Occupational Health. Its principal role is the provision of health advice to organisations and individuals to ensure that the highest standards of Health and Safety at Work can be achieved and maintained. Occupational Physicians must have a wide knowledge of clinical medicine and be competent in a number of important areas.
You only need to think how much of our waking life we spend at work, to realise how much our health depends on the workplace environment. The International Labour Organisation and World Health Organisation Committee on Occupational Health in 1950 produced a definition of Occupational Health which demonstrates the scope of the task:
'Occupational Health should aim at - the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well being of workers in all occupations; the prevention among workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; placing and maintenance of a worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological equipment and, to summarise, the adaption of work to people and of each person to their job.'
This programme is a national programme working across Scotland and is managed by the West Deanery. Further information can be found in the Occupational Health Medicine Programme Information Profile.
Key contacts
Deanery: Hazel.Stone@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Training Programme Director: alastairleckie@ohsas.scot.nhs.uk
Public Health
Public Health training is all about developing a population perspective of health and health care and is based around nine key areas: epidemiology; critical analysis; policy formulation; leadership; health improvement; health protection; service quality; health intelligence, and academic public health. Most new trainees have only had limited exposure to this sort of work, and those who come directly from clinical work may initially miss the direct patient contact and find the extended timescales to any substantial achievement to be frustrating. Don't worry - this period of adaptation will pass quickly!
Although appointed nationally, each trainee will be based in and employed by a parent NHS Board, University or Agency. Day-to-day training arrangements are co-ordinated locally. Each NHS Board, academic department or main agency with funded posts (e.g HPS, ISD) will have a local training co-ordinator. This is an informal appointment of an accredited trainer with the role of overseeing training arrangements within the organisation and liaising with other organisations about training attachments when necessary, although this will normally be done by the individual's Educational Supervisor.
This programme is a national programme working across Scotland and is managed by the South East Deanery.
Public Health Programme Information
