Preventive Medicine Physicians
Occupational Medicine Physician, Occupational Physician, Public Health Officer, Public Health Physician
What they do:
Apply knowledge of general preventive medicine and public health issues to promote health care to groups or individuals, and aid in the prevention or reduction of risk of disease, injury, disability, or death. May practice population-based medicine or diagnose and treat patients in the context of clinical health promotion and disease prevention.
On the job, you would:
- Direct or manage prevention programs in specialty areas such as aerospace, occupational, infectious disease, and environmental medicine.
- Identify groups at risk for specific preventable diseases or injuries.
- Direct public health education programs dealing with topics such as preventable diseases, injuries, nutrition, food service sanitation, water supply safety, sewage and waste disposal, insect control, and immunizations.
Knowledge
Health
- medicine and dentistry
- therapy and counseling
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Math and Science
- biology
- psychology
Safety and Government
- law and government
Skills
Basic Skills
- reading work related information
- thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
- thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
- measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Abilities
Verbal
- communicate by speaking
- listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- notice when problems happen
Visual Understanding
- see hidden patterns
- quickly know what you are looking at
Memory
- remember words, numbers, pictures, or steps
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Integrity
- Analytical Thinking
- Dependability
- Adaptability/Flexibility
- Concern for Others
- Attention to Detail
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Analytical or scientific software
- SAS
- The MathWorks MATLAB
Presentation software
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Data base user interface and query software
- Database software
- Microsoft Access
Education
Education: (rated 5 of 5)
post-doctoral training or
doctoral degree
usually needed
doctoral degree
usually needed
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
Explore More
- Cardiologists
- Emergency Medicine Physicians
- Family Medicine Physicians
- General Internal Medicine Physicians
- Pediatricians, General
You might like a career in one of these industries:
See more details at O*NET OnLine about preventive medicine physicians.