Preventive Medicine Doctor

Nature of the work

A preventive medicine specialist focuses on the health of individuals and defined populations to protect, promote, and maintain health and well-being as well as to prevent disease, disability, and premature death. A preventive medicine physician may be a specialist in general preventive medicine, public health, occupational medicine, or aerospace medicine.¹

Public health and general preventive medicine involves health promotion and disease prevention in communities and in defined populations.

Occupational medicine focuses on the relationships among the health of workers; the arrangements of work; and the physical, chemical, and social environments of the workplace.

Aerospace medicine focuses on the health of a population group consisting of the operating crews and passengers of air and space vehicles.

Physicians in preventive medicine can receive training in the following subspecialty areas:

medical toxicology, which involves evaluating and managing patients with accidental or purposeful poisoning through drugs or toxins.

undersea and hyperbaric medicine, which involves the treatment of decompression illness and diving accident cases.

Training/residency information

The residency training program for preventive medicine is three years. Additional training from one to two years is required to be certified in the subspecialty areas.

References
1 The American Board of Medical Specialties. Guide to Physician Specialties. Evanston, IL: American Board of Medical Specialties; February 2008.
2 Association of American Medical Colleges. Report on Medical School Faculty Salaries 2009–2010. Washington, DC: AAMC; February 2011.