Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Welcome to Occupational & Environmental Specialty Resource Page. This online repository houses relevant resources and contact information for students seeking career advice. We encourage you to review the career-related materials provided (e.g. Specialty Webinar, Interview Questions, Research, etc.) as you seek support in your journey through medical school.

Please note that Occupational & Environmental Residency is an advanced residency. An applicant must have completed at least one year of training in another specialty. Many applicants are or will be board eligible in another specialty by the time of entering training. It is strongly recommended that you speak with the this specialty Faculty advisors and Student Affairs Specialty Advisors early in planning.

Chicago

Chicago

MATCH PREPARATION AND CHARTING OUTCOMES

Entry to these programs is not through a formal match (see tab below “application timing”.)

Should applicants do away rotations?

Interested students are encouraged to participate in rotations is possible, however we do understand that this is not always pragmatic. Additional information regarding opportunities for students to complete away rotation can be found on the American College of Occupation and Environmental Medicine’s website here: http://www.acoem.org/OEMMedicalStudentRotations.aspx

Letters of Recommendation

Number of letters recommended – 3

Chair’s letter/SLOE/special letter required? Yes, 1 from a previous residency program director

Number of letters from within specialty – N/A

Number of letters from away rotations/institutions – Recommended if applicable only

Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews? No

Personal Statements

We are always interested in knowing how and why a candidate has chosen to pursue this branch of medicine. It often detracts from a personal statement when we find candidates mentioning their love for Internal Medicine, or not mentioning Occupational Medicine at all. Candidates sometimes also mention wishing to train in Preventive Medicine -this is ok to do, but we do expect that candidates will recognize in their statements that Occupational & Environmental Medicine is one of three unique specialty branches within Preventive Medicine. Additionally, approximately 1/3 of residents and graduates have completed training in other disciplines, with the remaining 50% have completed multiple PGY years in other fields. In these situations we do look to the personal statement to understand why a candidate maybe desiring to switch specialties.

Application Timing

When do programs in your specialty generally begin reviewing applications? Once ERAS opens in Mid-September

When do programs in your specialty begin offering interviews? Interviews typical begin the first week of October

When does your program generally offer interviews? October through the first week of December

Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews? No

Application to the program is completed during internship (PGY-1) or above. The nature of Occupational Medicine Residencies currently prohibit entry to the field from the MS-4 year. This is something being examined at the national level, and until resolved, please feel free to express interest in the program during your student years and please keep in mind we do invite students to participate in our one month rotation. We are also happy to discuss routes of entry at any point of your carrier. The Occupational Medicine match is an informal one and occurs in Mid-December following the day after the military match. We use ERAS for applications when available and a paper application during the off cycle season. The program requires additional admittance to the school of Public Health here at UIC where you will compete the Master in Public Health Degree in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Admission to the school is completed after your acceptance into the program.

All resident complete a research project relevant to the field of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This research may also be used to satisfy the requirements of theSchool of Public Health for the master in public health degree.

Interview Advice

There are currently 25 residency programs in the United States (2 of which are military residencies). Each program is unique in its own way, therefore knowing what carrier goals you might have will help narrow which programs can fulfill those needs best. This is also a good subject to discuss during the interview. It is always possible that after you begin training you may discover that your plans change and that is not uncommon; regardless, the discussion itself lets your interviewer(s) know that you have researched this unique field.

Use this link to find information for the Urology Match [ Society of Academic Urologists https://www.auanet.org/education/auauniversity/for-residents/urology-and-specialty-matches)] .
Looking for residency programs? The AAMC interactive, Careers in Medicine Website is where you should be! LINK
Having difficulty deciphering this information? Contact your Student Affairs Career Advisor on your campus!!!