Undergraduate occupational medicine tuition in UK schools of medicine

To assess any recent change in the quantity of teaching of occupational medicine (OM) in UK undergraduate medical curricula, and to compare these results with those obtained in previous years.

A questionnaire survey designed to capture information on the teaching of OM to undergraduates in all medical schools listed in the UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service prospectus for 2008-09.

Twenty-one of 32 (66%) UK medical schools returned a completed questionnaire. A comparison of results from this survey, with previous surveys, of teaching of OM to undergraduates in the UK showed that fewer schools now provide lectures, project work or ward-based tuition in this subject, than previously. In contrast to previous surveys, workplace visits were not undertaken by any institution. Only three (15%) of the schools setting an examination question related to OM also had a syllabus or explicit learning outcomes. More schools reported incorporating OM teaching within the teaching of other subjects.

Despite the increasing recognition of the impact and value of work on health and the growing evidence base to support work as a means of enhancing health, medical schools fall far short of a comprehensive programme of teaching in this important subject area. This may result in doctors being poorly prepared to recognize and diagnose occupational diseases adequately, and poorly equipped to support their patients in, for example, return to work, rehabilitation or providing advice on fitness to work.