Today marks the beginning of National Physician Week. Started in 2015 by Kimberley Funches Jackson, MD, it’s a time to recognize the work of physicians in all fields of practice, honor the years of sacrifice that go into becoming a physician and the importance of building the physician-patient relationship.
An often-overlooked field of medicine is occupational and environmental medicine (OEM). OEM physicians provide specialized healthcare services to workers at a wide variety of organizations from large corporations, to healthcare institutions, universities and government agencies, ensuring that not only overall health is maintained but that employers stay in compliance with healthcare mandates to protect workers.
Despite OEM’s often “under the radar” status, in the last year workplace health and safety has become a number one priority for the C-suite and boards for multiple reasons. In addition to providing important employee health services, an OEM clinic assists in attracting and retaining top talent and can also play a key role in containing the costs of doing business at a time when inflationary pressures persist, and economic uncertainty makes fiscal discipline imperative.
Keep reading to learn more about the invaluable work OEM physicians do and how the field is changing.
OEM is the Happiest Field in Medicine
With 2025’s National Residency Match Week in the rearview mirror, it’s time for next year’s class of soon-to-be physicians to start thinking about their residency plans. With physician burnout and career abandonment still high 5 years out from the start of the COVID pandemic, it’s important that physicians carefully consider the field they choose to specialize in.
In OccTalk – a highly informative podcast series sponsored by Enterprise Health and The ACOEM Ambassador program – physicians shared not only their paths to working in this unique specialty but also why it’s a field with higher than average satisfaction ratings and lower than average burnout rates.
In one recent episode, Dr. Bob Chestnut, Chief Medical Director at Cummins noted that it was hands-on experience with manual labor that opened his eyes to the needs of the worker. Having grown up in a small town, farming community, he left high school to work area farming jobs. “I caught on to occupational health relatively early, working on farms. Those experiences led to my interest in learning about and making those environments safer for those folks out there doing more difficult work, putting their lives at higher risk to earn a paycheck.”
Want to learn more about physicians who’ve built their careers in OEM? You can find insights from Dr. Bob Chestnut, as well as Dr. Michael Kauffman with Eli Lilly & Company, and former chief medical officer at BP, Dr. Richard Heron, over at the OccTok podcast channel.
Occ Doc Shortage
Despite being one of the most rewarding and mindful medical fields, there is currently a shortage of occupational and environmental health physicians in the United States. In a recent opinion piece published in The Stat, Matthew Hamm, MD chairman of the national OEM Pipeline Task Force and medical director at Occupational and Environmental Health Network, shared that there’s a serious shortage of physicians in the field.
Citing data from a 2023 study, Hamm shared that: “In 2023, training institutions had the capacity to take in 187 OEM residents, but only 115 of those slots were funded — meaning 40 percent of training opportunities sat empty.”
Want to learn more about the shortage of physicians in OEM and how this impacts the economy? Read Hamm’s article here.
The Role of Technology in Supporting OEM Physicians
Technology purpose-built for the OEM field plays a key role in supporting OEM physicians and keeping them protected from burnout, even when there’s a physician shortage. From scheduling software to automating reminders for critical tests to keep workers safe and employers in compliance, there’s been a surge in software and tools that streamline the role of the clinician.
Now, in 2025, AI-powered tech is coming to market to streamline workflows and support physicians to an even greater degree. While there are many AI tools that assist with transcription and scribing, or that can automate actions, Jeff Donnell of Enterprise Health says it’s important for occupational healthcare leaders to choose AI solutions that are purpose built for the OEM environment, including maintaining compliance with HIPAA and other PHI data privacy protections for patients.
Ready to learn more about AI and the value it brings to the practice of occupational and environmental medicine? Click here.