# Training the Next Generation of Occupational and Environmental Physicians

> **NIH ALLCDC T03** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $249,999

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The purpose of this renewal application is for funding of the existing University of Pennsylvania
(UPENN) Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM) Residency. The program, in existence
since 1997, designed to train up-to eight first-year trainees (OM-1) and six second-year trainees
(OM-2) annually. Trainees are practicing physicians making a mid-career change to the
specialty of OEM and admitted to the External Track (ET) as well as recent medical school
graduates who are eligible for admittance to the Internal Track (IT). The ET, train-in-place track,
helps overcome barriers that deter otherwise motivated physicians from specialist training. ET
residents work full-time as OEM physicians at an approved clinical training site (CTS)
supervised by an American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) certified physician. IT
residents, more recent medical school graduates, rotate at the UPENN and affiliated
organizations such as the Philadelphia Veterans’ Administration Hospital, as well as
governmental agencies and industry. The overall purpose is to graduate 30 trainees over the 5-
year grant period, including 10 NIOSH supported. The specific measurable objectives are to
help increase the nation’s primary care workforce, increase diversity in health professions
programs and the health workforce across the country, develop our residents to be teachers of
prevention and equip them to work with medically underserved populations. We work towards
continuous improvement of the training curricula to iteratively meet the needs of our residents
and of the workforce. Qualified applicants have completed at least 1 clinical year and have a
Master of Public Health or equivalent degree, or a plan for completing the degree before
graduation, in keeping with American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
requirements. The program provides 2 interrelated components: the applied clinical component
at the CTS and a didactic component that requires monthly 3-day sessions at UPENN: 12
didactic sessions during the first year and 5 during the second year. Both components work in
tandem to allow acquisition of the ACGME and allows trainees eligibility for the ABPM-
Occupational Medicine examination. As the largest civilian OEM residency in the US, with an
average of 7 residents each academic year, we currently have 8 residents in training. As of
June 2023, we have 165 alumni/graduates. Graduates pursue careers in the advanced clinical
and administrative practice of OEM. Generally, over 90% of our trainees remain in the field of
OEM.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10974206
- **Project number:** 2T03OH008628-20
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sajjad A Savul
- **Activity code:** T03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $249,999
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10974206

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10974206, Training the Next Generation of Occupational and Environmental Physicians (2T03OH008628-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10974206. Licensed CC0.

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