Physicians practising occupational medicine in Canada: a 2025 national survey

Occupational medicine (OM) is a small field in Canada. Due to various routes of entry, accurate depictions of the field are challenging and have been conducted twice previously.

To assess the profile of OM practice in Canada and distinguish between subgroups of interest (by years of practice and training routes).

A 66-item survey was distributed by three national and four provincial organizations with OM physician members, asking about demographic information, qualifications and education, and characteristics of practice, duties and compensation.

107 surveys were received. More than half (52%) of respondents declared being >55 years old, and 67% identified as male. Eighteen per cent reported having specialist credentials in OM, while the majority reported other backgrounds, and nearly 25% had no formal qualifications in OM. Those with >15 years of work in OM were more likely to be specialists, have a graduate degree relevant to OM and have core duties related to addiction medicine, workplace health and safety (e.g. training, hygiene evaluation) and leadership duties. Compared to respondents with no formal training, those with formal training were more likely to report adequate education in OM and more likely to work in management/administrative roles.

This is the first survey to seek input from a broad variety of OM-focused organizations in Canada. While the field is ageing overall, other demographic changes and newer pathways to certification show a change in the landscape from previous surveys.