Location
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a state-of-the-art medical and research campus located in Aurora, CO. Nearby Denver is a great place to begin your career and to enjoy the arts and culture as well as the great outdoors!
Occupational & Environmental Medicine Residency
Our residency is an ACGME-accredited two-year program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Residents in this program complete all requirements for board eligibility through the American Board of Preventive Medicine, earn a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Environmental & Occupational Health, and develop skills in a wide variety of settings, from medical facilities to industry sites. Residents are financially supported through the Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) at the Center for Health, Work & Environment, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, Pinnacol Assurance, Workwell Occupational Medicine, and National Jewish Health.
Why choose us
Unique rotations
Residents can rotate locally at OSHA and NIOSH field offices. National Jewish Health—a preeminent pulmonary medicine hospital—is one of our core teaching sites. We also offer clinical research and practice opportunities at miner’s clinics and surveillance clinics for legacy energy and defense workers.Clinical fellowship
We offer one of the few clinical fellowships in EOM in the U.S. Fellows–who typically bring mentorship and experience in another specialty–train alongside residents, providing an enriching experience for both trainees. Fellows have diverse backgrounds and training experience in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and more.
Occupational and environmental medicine is a medical specialty devoted to the prevention, treatment, and management of work-related injuries, illnesses, and disabilities and the promotion and protection of worker safety and health.
Broaden your impact
Occupational and environmental medicine physicians are public health specialists who care for injured workers, work with employers to prevent injuries, and help develop policies to maintain worker health. We direct
workers to get the care they need so that they can perform essential functions in our society.
Build relationships
Occupational physicians form personal relationships with patients where they witness and participate in meaningful improvement in patient health.
Better work-life balance
Occupational physicians
experience a significantly lower burnout rate than those working in any
other field of medicine. Why? Even as a resident, you can experience
work-life balance with manageable schedules
(including no night shifts).
Financial support
In this particular program, residents also receive scholarships to earn their Master's in Public Health (MPH) degree as well as a Certificate in Total Worker Health®.
Good candidates for this program include:
- Individuals who have completed a clinical residency and are interested in earning an MPH
- Medical students interested in non-operative musculoskeletal skills and outpatient practice
- Physicians seeking expertise in all elements of worker health including prevention, treatment and medical-legal
Welcome from the director
Welcome to the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency and
Fellowship, part of the Department of Environmental and Occupational
Health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Read the full note >
Read the full note >
Curriculum
Residents must complete a scholarly project as part of their training and can participate in other educational experiences such as monthly journal clubs, weekly case conferences, MAP ERC Research Day, presentations at the Rocky Mountain Academy of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, as well as other regional and national conferences. Additional opportunities include international worker health programs in Guatemala and Mexico and a field experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Salary and benefits
Residents selected for this program are financially supported through the MAP ERC, Denver Health, and
National Jewish Health.
| PG Year | Stipend 2023-2024 |
| 1 | $66,665 |
| 2 | $68,870 |
| 3 | $71,318 |
| 4 | $75,421 |
| 5 | $78,186 |
| 6 | $82,216 |
| 7 | $85,950 |
Benefits include:
- Health, dental, life, vision, disability, and liability injury at work insurance
- Flexible spending accounts and retirement plans
- Vacation, FMLA, and educational leave
- University of Colorado student discounts at local, regional and national businesses
Additional funding for:
- MPH courses, paid in full
- Books or other academic materials
- Local and national conference and travel fees
- Training opportunities in Colorado and Rocky Mountain region
- Parking at major academic centers
Where alumni work
Our alumni fill every niche in occupational and environmental medicine. In the past 10 years, our graduates have joined or started private practices, worked in hospital-based clinics or related networks of care, crafted policy at the local, state, and national level, done academic advisory work for medical universities, worked in corporate occupational medicine, returned to active military service, and performed large-scale, grant-funded research projects.
Notable alumni include:
- Dr. Ethan Moses (2014): Medical Director, Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation, Denver, CO
- Dr. Silpa Krefft (2016): Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Denver VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO
- Dr. Gabe Pepper (2017): Occupational Medicine Services Flight Commander, USAF, Hill Air Force Base, UT
- Dr. Oscar Sanders (2018): Clinical Director, UC Health Occupational Medicine, Greely, CO
- Dr. Pam Hackert (2019): Medical Health Officer, Genessee County Health Dept. Flint, MI
- Dr. Kathryn Buikema (2020), Medical Director for General Motors CCA Plant, Denver, CO
- Nancy Lin (2021), National Jewish Health and Johns Hopkins, Denver, CO
- Ricky Pompei (2022), Injury Care Associates, Thornton, CO
- Elizabeth Esty (2023), Center for Health, Work & Environment (MAP ERC), Aurora, CO
Spotlights
Preventive medicine meets occupational health with Ngozi Obi
Oct 26, 2020/20201024_160130_23178d5e5302864d9a5bfff0a001ce385.jpg?sfvrsn=fe50b1b9_0 "Ngozi Obi outdoors")
Ngozi Obi’s medical qualifications are impressive, to say the least. They are extensive, to say a bit more. After graduating from Abia State University and completing her National Youth Service in her home country of Nigeria, she worked briefly as a general practitioner prior to emigrating to the U.S. After passing the United States Medical Licensing Examinations, she was accepted into the Internal Medicine Residency program at the University of Maryland Prince Georges’ Hospital Center in Cheverly, MA and at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C. Afterwards, Ngozi completed her residency training in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Colorado while obtaining her Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from the Colorado School of Public Health.
Ngozi is not done learning just yet. She is currently in the Certificate in Total Worker Health® Program and the chief resident of the Occupational and Environmental Residency program at the Mountain and Plains Education & Research Center (MAP ERC) at the Center for Health, Work & Environment.
A “tortuous” route to occupational health
“I will say that I took a tortuous route getting into the field of occupational medicine,” she says. “I knew very little about it prior to starting my residency.” From a very young age, Ngozi’s passion has always been to take care of the people around her, a natural quality as the eldest sibling in her family. She understood the need to protect workers from deep seeds planted in her childhood.
“I grew up in a low-resource society with little or no regulations or controls for citizens and workers,” she says. “” By the time she started working in the United States, Ngozi says she “almost became disillusioned with the health care system midway into it due to inadequate focus on disease prevention.”
It was at this juncture that the “nagging desire” to pursue preventive medicine and public health took hold. During her first occupational medicine clinical rotation as a resident, Ngozi treated a unique population of highly motivated patients who were eager to recover and return to work. She knew her next venture would involve more worker-centric treatment. “The field of occupational safety and health presents practitioners with exciting opportunities to manage environmental exposures and learn from renowned researchers,” says Ngozi. “It also provides abundant research opportunities to improve the overall health and well-being of workers and their communities.”
Studying at the MAP ERC
/ngopi.jpg?sfvrsn=a033bdb9_2 "Ngozi Obi 3")
Ngozi chose to apply to the occupational medicine residency program at the MAP ERC in part due to its ties to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The MAP ERC’s Occupational Medicine Residency program is an ACGME-accredited two-year program where residents earn the qualifications to sit for board certification, earn a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Environmental & Occupational Health, and practice their skills in a wide variety of settings, from medical facilities to industry sites. The program is led by director Brian Williams, MD, MPH and assistant director Alisa M. Koval, MD, MPH, MHSA.
“Having been in this program for over one year, I will say that the personnel in MAP ERC have been exceptional, especially during the challenging times we have lived through in the last couple of months,” remarks Ngozi. “They have ensured that we are coping well, provided with access to necessary resources, and supported in our training.”
Treating the worker
Under the direction of Koval, who is also the Medical Director for the Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Ngozi worked on a project studying the injuries among Denver Health Paramedics compared with those of other emergency workers in Denver (such as firefighters and police). “This project was pivotal in preparing me for other coursework and clinical projects,” says Ngozi. “It gave me the opportunity to implement a real-world application of Total Worker Health program planning I learned in the certificate program as well as implement risk-reduction measures.”
Prior to being accepted into the program, Ngozi admits to thinking that the cost of keeping employees safe at the worksite was a significant financial burden on employers. However, thanks to her studies and experiences, she has found out that "there is a business case for employers to ensure their employees’ safety at work. Research has shown that healthy workers are more productive and take fewer days off and businesses with healthier workers have lower health care costs and decreased turn-over rate.” Supporting worker health makes too much sense (and money) to not prioritize.
Looking ahead, Ngozi plans to bring her experiences in internal and preventive medicine and occupational health to strengthen her clinical and preventive approach. “My training has enabled me to view each case from multiple perspectives and use a holistic assessment of patients. Having devoted many years to specialty trainings in medicine, I look forward to a clinical occupational medicine practice that will afford me opportunities to put my preventive medicine training to use for the improvement of systems, and more importantly, patient outcomes.”
Written by Laura Veith, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at the Center for Health, Work & Environment based at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Categories:
Center for Health, Work & Environment
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Tags:
Occupational Medicine Spotlight
Faculty
Program leadership
Core academic faculty
Clinical faculty
Elizabeth Esty MD, MPH
Clinical Instructor, University of Colorado Residency in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
James Ethan Moses MD, MPH
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Chief Medical Officer (Peak Form Medical Clinic)
Program mission
Our mission is to recruit and train the highest quality residents and prepare them for careers in occupational and environmental medicine (OEM). We serve those with occupational and environmental injuries and illnesses from the Denver-metro area, the state of Colorado, and the intermountain west. We are driven by injury and illness prevention, worksite wellness, and workplace health promotion and protection using Total Worker Health® principles.
Colorado School of Public Health
CU Anschutz
Fitzsimons Building
13001 East 17th Place
3rd Floor
Mail Stop B119
Aurora, CO 80045
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