This programme is organised by the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (IOEM) at the University of Birmingham. It is designed to meet the needs of postgraduate training in the prevention and control of work-related ill health and to understand the issues of ill health and its effect on work in the 21st century. It is open to graduates with relevant first degrees and those with appropriate work experience. This includes doctors, nurses, hygienists, and health and safety personnel.
The programme has been established for over 15 years and more than 200 students from ten different countries have now completed it. It is based on a multidisciplinary approach to tackling a wide range of occupational health issues and is recognised by both the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) and the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).
Programme aims and content
The programme’s aim is to develop the practitioner in occupational health and associated disciplines. It combines the academic and practical aspects of occupational health so that you can contribute to the development of occupational health services as well as improving practices and dealing effectively with management issues.
The programme is approved by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) and the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS). Our students are also eligible to apply for BOHS student’s bursary.
Benefits of studying this programme
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The course focuses on current key topics including fitness for work, mental health, health screening, musculoskeletal disorders and management of health risk.
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You have daily interaction with experts in occupational health and visits to workplaces enables you to put concepts into practice. The course will equip you to understand and solve a wide range of occupational health problems.
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The IOEM has a dedicated reference library and access instruments used for health screening and exposure monitoring.
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Students with both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds benefit from understanding how workplace data can be collected and integrated to solve occupational health problems
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The course has a history of welcoming both home and international students to the IOEM. Since its inception, graduates of the course still maintain links with the Institute. This communication allows us to continually build working relationships at a national and international level. Recent graduates have been from the United Kingdom and countries including, Bahrain, Ghana, Greece, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Learning and teaching
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Teaching methods include formal lectures, tutorials, group work, case studies and workplace visits; the majority of lectures and practicals take place within the IOEM, which allows high-quality interaction between the academic staff and students
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The programme of teaching is supported by a variety of workplace visits that enable students to see at first hand the extent of occupational health in practice
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Each module includes tutorial time, providing an opportunity to re-address concepts and approaches to problem solving
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Learning is supported by the use of the electronic curriculum (WebCT), allowing students to access learning materials when away from the campus
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Every student on the programme has a personal tutor who can be contacted to discuss course material and understanding of specific topics as well as matters which may affect academic progress
Related links
School of Health and Population Sciences website: www.haps.bham.ac.uk
For further information about the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Birmingham visit the website http://www.haps.bham.ac.uk/ioem