Education and Training in OH

Background
In 1985, the ICOH established a Scientific Committee on Education and Training in Occupational Health. This Scientific committee has been established to improve education and training in the field of health and safety at work, inclusive the education of medical students and students of other relevant disciplines, the education of occupational health nurses, occupational physicians, occupational hygienists, safety experts, psychologists, and other experts in occupational safety and health (OSH), and the education of non-OSH experts relevant for occupational safety and health, such as general practitioners in primary health care, human resource managers and engineers.
Aim
The aim is to raise the level of knowledge and skills on all aspects of occupational safety and health. The education and training includes not only the vocational training of relevant professionals but also the cycle of lifelong learning. The committee is similarly committed to the education and training in occupational safety and health of workers and managers, their representatives, and of volunteers active in this field. As education and access to and use of reliable information are closely connected, the committee will take the need to improve access and use of reliable information into account.
Future
For the next triennium ICOH Scientific Committee Education and Training in OH, SCETOH 2015-2018 proposes several tasks and project proposals to fulfil.
Four tasks:
- Increase membership of the committee, their commitment and activities by
- Organize a midterm SCETOH meeting in 2017 as an international symposium on education in OSH. We hope to partner this meeting with co-organizers such as from another ICOH SC.
- Have at least one collaborative project involving SCETOH members from different countries. The aim is to stimulate international collaboration in the development and evaluation of knowledge (articles, reports, evaluation studies, a support group for evaluation studies) or knowledge products useful for OSH education. Knowledge products can be a course, learning material, a website for the dissemination of learning materials, a forum to share experiences and materials. We foresee that there is a need to have sufficient champions to support a project.
Proposals for projects:
- Development of education of primary health care in OSH
- Development of education for a high risk industry where there is a lack of initiatives such as for agriculture
- Supporting online platforms for sharing experiences and dissemination of curricula and learning materials
- Write an article presenting new and promising initiatives and discussing an agenda for the future for the different target groups. We may collaborate in writing with important others such as OHTA, EASOM, etc. The aims are dissemination of interesting new initiatives e.g. using new social media, discussion on improving quality and coverage, encouragement of collaboration and impact on the political agenda.