Program Structure

The academic and practicum phases of the Occupational Medicine Residency program are functionally integrated because residents participate in occupational medicine clinical and core residency training activities while taking courses during the academic phase. Residents can tailor their training from a range of academic and practicum opportunities to meet their individual educational objectives while receiving solid training in the core areas of preventive medicine and occupational medicine.

The residency begins in August with a seven-week orientation and intensive introduction to the field of occupational health. Residents in the academic phase take courses for their master’s of science degree programs during the fall, winter and spring terms, which last from late September to June. A practicum phase field site rotation follows from June until late-September.

Most residents then take one to two additional courses during the fall term of the second year while completing individual research projects for the master’s thesis. The remainder of the residency is devoted to practicum training experiences. Residents finish the program at the end of July in the second year in order to qualify to take the occupational medicine board certification examination.

During an initial orientation period, residents develop individualized educational plans based on a self-assessment, prior training and experience as well as educational objectives. Residents begin to participate in the occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) clinics at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) and in core residency didactic seminars.

Residents also visit multiple worksites and occupational medicine programs in the region for an introduction to workplace assessment and to practice opportunities in occupational medicine. In addition, they complete courses on industrial hygiene, occupational safety and introduction to occupational and environmental health laws and regulations. This orientation period allows entering residents to interact with continuing residents and the program faculty in order to become thoroughly familiar with the educational opportunities and resources offered.

The principal objective of the academic phase is to provide didactic and research training in the core areas of preventive medicine and occupational and environmental medicine, while providing in-depth training in an area of greatest relevance to the resident’s educational objectives.

During the academic phase, residents enroll in the Master of Science degree in Environmental Health Sciences. After being accepted to the residency program, applicants will receive instructions on applying for the Master’s degree in Environmental Health Sciences. Residents must complete the degree as part of the academic phase of the residency program.

This degree is offered by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health to provide in-depth training in toxicology and epidemiology while satisfying course requirements for preventive medicine. Residents complete required courses and conduct an individual research project that leads to a master’s thesis.

Elective courses allow residents to complete the required course work for the preventive medicine program. Required or commonly taken elective courses include: Principles of Toxicology, Target Organ Toxicology (2 courses), Experimental Design and Interpretation of Toxicology Studies, Neurotoxicology, Inhalation Toxicology, Environmental Toxicology, Industrial Toxicology, Toxicology Seminar, Data Analysis (statistics), Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Management of Health Care Organizations or Public Health Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Health Psychology, and Environmental Epidemiology.

Here are some examples of research projects undertaken by our past residents:

Anthony Biascan, MD, MS, “Cardiovascular Plaque Associated with Exposure to 2.5 ppm,” July 2013.
Mahdy Flores, DO, MS, “Cardiac Toxicity of Wild Land Fire Generated Ultrafine Particles in Rats,” July 2014.
Derek Gagnon, MD, MS, “Brain and Other Nervous System Tumor Risk Among Workers at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” July 2014.
Michael Sracic, MD, MS, “Modeled Deposition of Inhaled Particulate Matter in Athletes at Exertion,” July 2014.
Lynn Flowers, DO, MS, “The Effect of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon on Ovulatory Status in Women,” August 2015.
Sanjiwani Meharda, MD, MS, “In Utero Exposure to Benzo(a)Pyrene Results in Ovarian Follicular Depletion in F1 Muta TM Mouse,” July 2016.
Gillian Nelson, MD, MS, “Is There a Relationship Between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Ovarian Reserve Markers in Humans?” July 2016.
Joseph Vo, MD, MS, “The Effects of Ozone on Atherosclerosis in Predisposed Mice,” July 2017.
Samir Mukherjee, MD, MS, “Clinical Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome,” June 2018.
Ling Jing, MD, MS, “Psychosocial and Occupational Factors Associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome using a National Sample of United States Working Adults,” June 2019.
Tracy J. Lee, MD, MS, “Psychological Occupational Strain and its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Fire Fighters,” June 2019.
Neesha Mody, MD, MS, “Psychological Occupational Strain and its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Bus Drivers,” Sept 2020.
Oluseyi Awodele, MD, MS, “Space Radiation Effects: Comparison of Ovarian Toxicity of Low Dose Gamma Radiation vs. High LET Charged Particle Radiation,” June 2021.
Dane Dicaro, DO, MS, “Associations of Specific Exposure Sources with Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolic Concentration in Women,” June 2021.
Thomas Overton, MD, MS, “Association between PFOA/PFOS Drinking Water Exposures and Asthma ED Visits” June 2022.
Samantha Ayoub, MD, MS, “Associations between COVID-19-Related Job Stressors and Marijuana Use in Californian Adult Workers” June 2023.
Rashmi Bhuyan, MD, MS, “Associations of Air Pollution and Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy” June 2023.
Stephen Craft, MD, MS, “Determination of Relative Biological Effectiveness: Low Dose Gamma-Radiation Effects on Ovarian Follicle Depletion and Persistence of Oxidative Lipid, Protein, and DNA Damage” June 2023.

The practicum phase, a recognized strength of the Occupational Medicine residency program, provides opportunities for residents to assume progressive responsibility for the practice of occupational medicine in a range of settings, while achieving each resident’s individual educational objectives.

The excellent facility and resources of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) provide an outstanding setting for clinical and didactic training, and close collaboration with occupational medicine programs in the region makes available a range of outstanding practicum training experiences.

The major components of the practicum phase include field site placements, COEH clinical training, COEH didactics and the individual research experience. Conceptually, the program divides the field-site rotations into three types of experiences: corporate or worksite-based occupational medicine programs; regulatory or public health agencies, and comprehensive occupational medicine clinical practices. Residents complete at least one rotation in each setting. Residents also may undertake clinical training at UC Irvine in areas relevant to occupational medicine practice.

During the practicum phase, residents spend most of their time in field-site rotations which reflect the broad range of “real world” practice opportunities. Within these rotations, the residents are exposed to all aspects of practice including clinical care and evaluation of workers; medical surveillance; organization and management of occupational medicine programs; work place exposure assessment and control methods, and collection and analysis of health data.

Meanwhile, residents also receive clinical, didactic and research training through interaction with the OEM program faculty, which provides continuity for the residents’ other training experiences.

Field-site rotations are divided into three types of experiences: corporate or worksite-based occupational medicine programs; regulatory or public health agencies, and comprehensive occupational medicine clinical practices.

Residents are expected to complete at least one rotation in each setting. Residents also may undertake clinical training at UC Irvine Medical Center in areas relevant to occupational medicine practice, such as dermatology, radiology and physical medicine/rehabilitation.
The field-site placement with Cal-OSHA is an interesting and valuable component of the practicum training since it affords an opportunity for residents to view many work places and to become involved in issues related to occupational health law and regulation. This rotation’s emphasis is on work place exposure evaluation and regulatory compliance. It takes place two days a week over three months so that residents have meaningful participation in workplace evaluation and possible resultant regulatory actions. Under supervision, residents assume increasing responsibility for performing work-place evaluations, doing research and writing reports to be approved by the Cal-OSHA site director.
Another training site includes the Kaiser Occupational Medicine Program or the University of California, San Diego, Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (COEM), depending on the resident’s location. Residents obtain comprehensive clinical training including experience in performing pre-placement examinations, fitness-for-duty examinations and OSHA-mandated surveillance exams. They also evaluate and treat occupational injuries and illnesses and care for employees under workers’ compensation. These rotations provide residents an opportunity to understand the comprehensive practice of occupational medicine in a group medical practice setting.
In addition, the residency program offers a rotation with the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), which is Orange County’s Public Health Department. This is another unique opportunity for residents to work directly with the Medical Director for the Epidemiology, Assessment, and Immunization Program at OCHCA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the occupational medicine residents were closely involved in the epidemiology of the pandemic from its inception in 2020. Here, residents also have the opportunity to gain competency in preventive medicine, for example, rotating through the TB and STD clinics.
Residents also have the opportunity to rotate through the UC Irvine Wellness Department where they are involved in patient safety issues, development and implementation of wellness programs, and work on projects that have meaningful impact on employees at UC Irvine.
Another exciting work site based rotation for residents is Wave NeuroScience. Wave Neuroscience is a global leader in the field of computational neuroanalytics and personalized neurological care, leveraging machine learning and neuroimaging to deliver high quality and effective treatment through its innovative suite of tools and software.
Residents will be immersed in an innovative biotechnology corporate environment. Objectives include participation in conducting and/or creating validating research to demonstrate safety and efficacy of new technologies, exposure to the process of creating novel intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.), and access to scientists / engineers / physicians involved in creating innovative solutions to medical problems. Residents will also gain competency on how to create a business, work in interprofessional teams, use information technology to optimize learning, use biostatistics methods, and educate patients and populations. Residents will also have the opportunity to review key occupational and environmental medicine board review content areas with the site director.
Another exciting rotation is at Amgen, a world-wide innovative biotechnology company where residents are immersed in an innovative corporate environment. They participate in projects in wellness, ergonomics, health and safety protocols and standards and gain competencies in occupational medicine in the corporate setting while working in an interdisciplinary team of occupational health physicians, nurses and engineering, environmental and safety subject atter experts to implement health and safety measures for Amgen employees.
Other rotations include managed care corporations which address competency in disability management and utilization review. Residents also develop experience from the payor side of occupational medicine. The rotation can be structured to function as a corporate, work-site based rotation.
Residents who desire more specialized clinical training may do ambulatory rotations with UC Irvine Medical Center clinical programs, such as dermatology, pulmonary, radiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Although the goal of the residency program is to prepare physicians for the comprehensive practice of occupational medicine, research is an integral component of the program in that the academic degree programs require research leading to a thesis. The residency program endorses the academic rigor of this approach by requiring that residents satisfy the thesis degree requirements in order to complete the residency. The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and, more broadly, the School of Medicine and Wen Public Health provide a rich environment for residents to undertake a full range of research activities.

The director and faculty members guide residents in selecting their research topics for the master’s degree thesis. In many instances, residents perform their research under the supervision of a division faculty member, many of whom have joint appointments with participating academic institutions.

During the program’s practicum phase, residents may extend the research they began in the academic phase or they may undertake new projects. These projects often develop from field-site rotations. The research experience is designed to provide knowledge, skills and an appreciation of research without materially detracting from the residents’ core training in comprehensive occupational and environmental medicine practice.