TRAINING
Occupational medicine is the branch of medicine a specialty that focuses mainly on prevention of accidents and diseases related to work. It covers health aspects and needs of workers with respect to their working conditions.
Specialized training in occupational medicine gives skills to identify risk factors present in the workplaces, to evaluate the health risk based on occupational exposure of workers, to proceed to the early detection of occupational related diseases, to evaluate fitness to work according to the task and health status of workers. Occupational medicine specialists are key persons to prevent work related diseases and accidents. They are able to develop adapted preventive programs in workplaces.
Occupational medicine specialists can work in clinical settings (i.e. at an individual level) or for companies, workers compensation boards, or institutions (i.e. at a populational level).
In Canada, 3 universities offer Occupational medicine training. Interested persons can find the Royal College standards for Occupational Medicine here.
There are three accredited Occupational Medicine residency programs in Canada. You can find some information on the application process on the CaRMS website. Interested candidates should get in touch directly with each program to determine the real training capacity per year per program.
You can find more information on each program below:
University of Alberta, Edmonton Dr. Quentin Durand-Moreau Division of Preventive Medicine
5-30 University Terrace, University of Alberta Edmonton AB T6G 2G3 | University of Toronto, Toronto Dr. Vince Spilchuk Department of Occupational Medicine St. Michael’s Hospital 30 Bond Street Shuter Wing, 4th Floor Toronto ON M5B 1W8 | Université de Montréal, Montréal Dr Louis Patry MD, FRCP, DEA Professeur agrégé de clinique Département de médecine Département de santé environnementale et de santé au travail Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal 1000 rue St-Denis Montréal, H2X 0C1 |
More specific information about the examination requirements, accreditation process, etc. is available by selecting the “Information by Discipline” link on the RCPSC website, and then selecting Occupational Medicine from the Subspecialty drop-down menu.
CONTACT USOccupational Medicine Specialists of Canada E-mail: omsoc@secretariatcentral.com Telephone: 905-415-3917 ext 224 & 222 Toll Free: 1-855-415-3917 Address: 20 Crown Steel Dr. Unit #6, Markham ON, L3R 9X9 | ABOUT THE ASSOCIATIONOMSOC is Canada’s only medical society devoted to the specialty practice of occupational medicine. OMSOC brings together occupational medicine specialists and physicians from other specialties with an interest in occupational medicine to advise on health policy, encourage discussion and collaboration amongst stakeholders with whom OMSOC’s members interact, including physicians, employers, labour groups, and other allied health professionals, and to advance the specialty practice of occupational medicine through conferences and the training of future occupational medicine specialists. The Occupational Medicine Specialists of Canada is the recognized National Specialty Society for Occupational Medicine with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. |