Program Overview

Occupational Medicine Residency

The Occupational Medicine Residency (OMR) at the University of Washington is one of the longest-standing programs of its kind in the United States, established in 1977. It is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and receives funding through the CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Program Goal

The goal of OMR is to produce graduates who are leaders in occupational medicine and prepared to address regional and emerging occupational and environmental medicine needs using evidence-based clinical, cutting-edge research, and interdisciplinary approaches.

Training Program

The training program offers outstanding clinical training in rotations throughout the UW and a variety of local experiences, such as:

• The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
• The VA Puget Sound Health Center
• The Washington Department of Labor & Industries
• The Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Most trainees are concurrently enrolled in a two-year Master of Public Health degree program in the UW School of Public Health that combines core curriculum and courses pertinent to the training of OMR physicians.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program are eligible to become board-certified in Occupational Medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine. Alumni are employed in a variety of careers in diverse fields, such as:

• Direct patient care
• Academics
• Federal and state agencies influencing public policy

Program Faculty

Core Faculty

• Debra Cherry, MD, MS
• Joel Kaufman, MD, MPH
• Peter Rabinowitz, MD, MPH
• Coralynn Sack, MD, MPH

Supporting Faculty

• Bruce Christen, MD
• Betty Ann Cohen, MD, MPH
• Paul Darby, MD, MPH, PhD
• Paul Faestel, MD, MPH
• Gary Franklin, MD, MPH
• Abid Haq, MD, MPH
• Stephen Hunt, MD, MPH
• Peter Johnson, PhD
• Catherine Karr, MD
• Matt Keifer, MD, MPH
• Thomas Louwers, MD, MPH
• Scott Morris, MD, MPH
• Alvin Nayan, MD, MPH
• Nicholas Reul, MD, MPH
• Lianne Sheppard, PhD
• Ann Tu, MD, MPH

Program Director

The Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program Director position is currently open. The Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Director is Debra Cherry, MD, MS.