Master of Occupational Medicine

Occupational Medicine is a branch of medicine that began with Bernardino Ramazzini (1633 – 1714) whose interests and publications in ‘trade diseases’ earned him the title “Father of Occupational Medicine”. As early as 1955, an Industrial Health unit was established in the then Colonial Government Medical and Health Department.

Traditionally, the Medical and Health Department in Hong Kong has sponsored its doctors to read the MSc programme in Occupational Medicine in Singapore and the United Kingdom, the Diploma in Industrial Health (DIH) in New Zealand, or attend various courses in the USA. A Diploma in Occupational Medicine, together with the Diploma in Occupational Health Nursing and Diploma in Occupational Hygiene courses, were started in 1985 by the Department of Community and Family Medicine.

To date, the Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine course is the only occupational medicine course offered by local universities in Hong Kong. With the rapid social and economic changes in Hong Kong, occupational medicine has evolved beyond the factory environment to include all occupations, and from physical, chemical and biological hazards to encompass psychological, behavioural, ergonomic and management aspects.

The establishment of the Subspecialty of Occupational Medicine within the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine was approved by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 2000. Occupational Medicine is now in the Specialist Register of the Hong Kong Medical Council. These developments have reinforced the need for a local Master of Occupational Medicine (MOM) programme.

According to the training requirements laid down by the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine, trainees in the Subspecialty of Occupational Medicine must pass the College Fellowship Examinations and satisfy the requirements for in-service training in Occupational Medicine. The Master of Occupational Medicine programme, which combines the current 9-month Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine course with three additional modules (one ‘Epidemiology in Occupational Health’ module, one ‘Biostatistics in Occupational Health’ module and one ‘Applied Occupational Medicine’ module), and a thesis, provides a much-needed teaching programme that forms an essential component in the training of the occupational medicine specialist.

Course objectives

The aim of the MOM programme is to provide training in occupational medicine for the medical profession in Hong Kong at a Masters level, so that graduates are:

- proficient in the knowledge and skills in the practice of Occupational Medicine, and

- suitably prepared for the Intermediate and Exit Examinations in Occupational Medicine of the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine

The graduates of the MOM programme will have the knowledge and skills to practise Occupational Medicine in the occupational health facilities of the Government and in the community.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to hold a Bachelor degree in Medicine awarded by a local university,

or an overseas university of acceptable standing and where English is the medium of

instruction. In the case of candidates from non-English universities, the Graduate School’s English language

requirement for admission will apply.

Programme Description

OHS5001 Fundamentals of Occupational Health (First Year)

A basic course for students intending to study in any discipline of occupational health sciences. General basic principles in the practice of occupational health and hygiene will be introduced. Other topics include applied toxicology, physical hazards, chemical hazards, biological hazards, ergonomics and occupational psychology.

OMD5002 Principles and Practice of Occupational Medicine (First Year)

This is a follow-up of course OHS5001 for medical doctors who want to specialize in the discipline of occupational medicine. A systematic approach to the study of occupational diseases and work-related health problem will be introduced and practical management problems in occupational medicine will be covered.

Prerequisite: OHS5001 Fundamentals of Occupational Health.

OMD5003 Practical and Project Work in Occupational Medicine (First Year)

Each student is required to complete a number of practical and project assignments related to the practice of occupational medicine. The assignments include workplace health hazard evaluations and reports, clinical case reviews and reports, and practical problem solving projects with different scenarios in occupational health settings. Students will need to demonstrate competency in utilizing knowledge and skills acquired during the diploma programme. Presentations in class and written reports will be required for the assessment of performance in this module.

MOM5002 Epidemiology in Occupational Health (First Year)

This course is designed to introduce essential methods in epidemiology, as applied to occupational medicine practice and research. The topics will include risk estimation, surveys and sampling, cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies, clinical trials and evidence-based medicine.

MOM5003 Biostatistics in Occupational Health (First Year)

Basic biostatistics methods, which are essential to the practice of occupational medicine and simple research, will be taught. The topics will include nature of variables, descriptive statistics, comparisons between and among groups, common parametric and non-parametric methods, correlation and regressions. The use of common statistical software will be introduced.

MOM6001 Applied Occupational Medicine (Second Year)

This course emphasizes on the application of knowledge and skills acquired during the basic course (MOM-DOM) in daily clinical practice. Visits and attachments to various service units will be arranged. Case discussions, clinical practice audits and problem-solving exercises will be emphasized and there will be frequent interactions with the instructors.

MOM6002 Protocol Development (Second Year)

This is a practical course to train students to develop the technique in protocol writing, leading ultimately to the conduct of their research project and the write-up of their thesis. This course involve the application and synthesis of knowledge acquired in the other courses.

MOM6003 Project Work and Report (Second Year)

Each student is required to complete an individual project on occupational medicine under the direction of a supervisor utilizing knowledge and skills acquired during the master programme. Students will be required to make regular presentations on the progress of their projects throughout the course, and to submit a thesis at the end of the programme.

All students are expected to take two years to finish this Master’s programme. Graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine who entered the MOM programme will be exempted from MOM5001 in their Year One but are still required to take MOM5002 and MOM5003. They may finish the programme in 3 terms.

Medium of instruction

English

Place of classes

The meeting place is at Seminar Room, 2/F., Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T.

Fees

2009 – 2011: HK $ 126,000 per programme (in 4 installments)

Students who have satisfactorily completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine course are exempted from the OHS5001, OMD5002 and OMD5003 modules (to be granted the exemptions, the students concerned must have obtained an average grade of B or above in their diploma studies) and fees for that module ($20,000) will be exempted. They are only required to attend MOM5002 & MOM5003 in Year One and the course fees for Year One will be $43,000. The fees for Year Two are $63,000 for all candidates.

Application procedure

A completed application form must be accompanied by the following :

(a) Photo copies of degree or other educational certificates.

(b) A recent passport size photo of the applicant.

(c) Official Transcripts (with a complete record of courses attended and examination results) of all tertiary level studies. Photocopies will not be accepted.

(d) An application fee of HK$180 by crossed cheque or money order payable to

"The Chinese University of Hong Kong". The fee is not refundable.

For online applications, please visit Graduate School

PLEASE NOTE that places on the Course are strictly limited in number because of the nature of the tutorials and small group teaching. Interview may be required and some applicants may be asked to postpone their admission until the following year.

Closing date for applications

31st May 2009

Date of commencement of the course

September, 2009

Further Information and Enquiries

Mr. C.C. Lee

Master of Occupational Medicine

Department of Community and Family Medicine

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

4^th Floor, School of Public Health

Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T.

Tel: 22528817 Fax: 2606 3791

Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/med/cmd/occmed/msc_occ_med.html

[ CUHK | Faculty of Medicine | Community & Family Medicine ]