P-060 Improving the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Physician Training Pipeline

Abstract Introduction There is a shortage of board-certified occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) physicians in the United States (US), and worldwide. In the US there is a recent decline in applicants to OEM training programs. This study aims to understand the training pipeline and develop recommendations to increase recruitment of qualified candidates to become excellent OEM physicians. This study has the support of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine President’s Taskforce. Methods Electronic surveys are distributed to the ~100 current US OEM residents and ~250 alumni who have graduated from OEM training programs in the last five years. The survey covers path to OEM, experience applying to programs, planned/current type of job, and views on various ways to expand the pipeline. The survey is anonymous and distributed via email to OEM training program directors, who distribute it to their current residents & alumni. Data collection and analysis use Qualtrics and STATA respectively. Results Data collection is still ongoing but will complete by the end of summer 2023. Analysis will be complete before ICOH in Morocco. Discussion There are extremely limited studies of current OEM residents in the US, with only one prior study surveying a single training program’s residents and alumni (University of Pennsylvania). This is the most comprehensive survey of current trainees and recent alumni to date. Conclusion This study will help better understand the pipeline and develop recommendations for expanding recruitment to increase the number of qualified candidates entering the field of OEM.