UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT CHICAGO
Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education and Research Center (MC922) School of Public Health 2121 West Taylor Street Chicago, Illinois 60612-7260 Great Lakes Centers for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health World Health Organization Collaborating Center

International Program on Occupational Health Practice Syllabus Course I "Foundations of Occupational Health Practice"
General Information
This "International Program on Occupational Health Practice" is specifically designed for health service providers in industry including large global companies such as company physicians, nurses and other professionals working in employee health. The focus is on occupational health scenarios in developing countries where there often is a limited access to advanced occupational health practice training but where on the other hand, multinational companies often operate. The program is aimed at building on the physicians' and nurses' excellent clinical skills to improve their competencies to develop and deliver effective occupational health programs within a business and company environment. Here, management system thinking, occupational health risk management, evaluation and analysis skills, reporting skills, teamwork and contribution to management processes such as certification or accident investigations are required. This program specifically addresses these company-level and managerial skills and competencies so health professionals in a company can effectively contribute to the protection of the employees and the goals and success of the company by reducing the costs of ill health and increasing good health and human capacity. This course program is offered by the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago with its Great Lakes Center for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health. The program is completely online. No visits on campus or out-of-country travels are required. The program is divided into three courses. The courses follow and build on each other. It is strongly recommended to take the Foundations course first.
Goal:

This program focuses on teaching fundamental skills and competencies, which are necessary for providers of Occupational Health services within a company. It provides practical skills to provide preventive occupational health services to the workforce and to participate in company management. This program is specifically designed for doctors, occupational health nurses, medical technicians and managers of occupational health programs working in global companies. The program is focused on the health and medical issues in occupational health and safety. Technical topics such as industrial hygiene or technical safety will only be discussed in general. In principle, non-health professionals such as technicians,

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engineers, managers can join the program. They need to be aware of the health focus and should detail their reasons for joining in the letter of application.
Technical requirements:

The program is completely online. No visits on campus are required. The program uses a web-based content management and teaching platform. Participants need to access the internet weekly. The internet will be intensively used to search and find information to solve company problems. However, as some participants might not have a broadband connection efforts will be made to provide the course material and the assignments in suitable way for slower connections. For practical exercises, participants will have to submit scanned checklists and photos of non-critical workplaces with permission of their company, for instance from loading/unloading docks, gardening, kitchen, maintenance, workshops. Capacity for scanning, emailing, up-loading of digital pictures is therefore required. Participants need to have an updated anti-virus program on their computer to communicate with the faculty. Sending virus repeatedly can result in exclusion form the program.
Required time commitment:

The average workload for a participant during a working week will be about twelve hours. Individual modules last usually two weeks and end with the submission of an assignment by the participant. Therefore, in total about twenty to twenty five hours of work are required for each two-week module. With practical exercises, the total amount of time required for taking the entire program is approximately 340 hours. During one year, the participant will take three courses, one of ten and two of eight weeks duration. This is approximately equivalent of a residential three-month course. Such a program equals approximately three months of residential training. In many developed and developing countries, such three-month training is considered the basic requirement for a company doctor to work in an enterprise.
Languages:

Teaching, that is all course assignments and communications, will be conducted in English. However, in addition to English, it is possible for participants to return their completed assignments and communicate with the faculty also in French, Spanish, German and (limited) in Italian in most of the modules.
Eligibility of participants:

This program is a post-graduate level program. Participants are eligible when they possess a Bachelor in health sciences, natural sciences, or engineering. Persons who currently work in occupational health will be preferred.
Certification:

For all completed course, the participants will get a certificate of successful completion. After successfully completing all three courses, the participants will receive a certificate of successful completion of the "International Program on Occupational Health Practice" from the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago. Participants are required to participate in the feedback surveys after each course to receive their certificates.
Assessment:

Assessment will be done with a portfolio technique, which includes a mixture of challenges such as assignments, filled-out checklists, reports (e.g. workplace evaluations) and some online tests.

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AT CHICAGO
Project paper:

A final project paper is not required for the completion of this program. However, if a participant wants to work on a project to address a specific problem in his/her company, the participant will receive individual coaching and supervision for the project. An average workload of about 100 hours for such a project is assumed. After completion, the participant will get the addition of "passed with distinction" in his/her final certificate or the already issued certificate of completion will be amended. A supplemental fee will be charged for the additional individual coaching.
Books:

We consider books an essential part of teaching, learning and professional work. The students are therefore required to purchase some books for this program, not all of them at the same time though. The total value of mandatory books will be around $350 USD for the entire one-year program. These books are not only selected as teaching materials for participants but as useful future reference and information sources for the company library. Participants should take into account that sometimes shipping the books to selected countries can add a substantial amount of money to the overall cost.

Classroom Rules
Here are a list of "Do's" and "Don'ts". These rules will help define what is expected from you as a participant and what the criteria are for evaluating your performance. The Do's * Visit the course web page at least once a week. * Check your emails at least once a week. * Always check the course announcements first! * Send in your assignments from the modules in time. The deadlines are given in the overview. You will miss out on marks if you send it too late. * Protect your computer system and ours by using an Anti-Virus program. This is very serious! We will have to exclude you from the course if you send us viruses! *Ask immediately if you encounter roadblocks and problems! Remember: we are here to help and guide you through this program! * Always indicate the source and reference when you use ideas, phrases and paragraphs from somebody else including from webpages (here, you should give the author and the URL). Your correct use and referencing of information sources (including giving the reference) is one criterion for evaluation. Last not least .. * Think yourself! Your thoughts and doubts, for instance your ideas on how to tackle a problem or your suggestions for solutions are much (repeat: MUCH) more important to us than the correct repetition of book knowledge without you understanding, comprehending and critically evaluating it. Your creativity in problem solving and your capability of critical reflection are what we want to practice and learn in this course. The Don'ts * Don't cheat. Do not just "copy & paste" from other participants or other sources. Do not use ideas, results or quotes from others without giving the source and critically reflecting on it.

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AT CHICAGO
* Do not "copy & paste" from books, articles or internet sites without giving the reference. This is called plagiarism and constitutes a severe breech of academic conduct. It is considered a type of cheating. It is commonly defined as "adoption or reproduction of the ideas or words or statements of another person without due acknowledgment". (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism for general information and a more detailed explanation at http://www.uic.edu/depts/pols/Plagiarism1.pdf). If you are plagiarizing in this program, your work might not be recognized for the module (no marks), you might loose all marks for previous modules if you used plagiarism to get the marks or you might be expelled from the course. In our course, your work might be submitted to a plagiarism-check, which is built into the Blackboard webpage.

Evaluation
After each course a feedback survey on course quality, the faculty, technology and teaching quality will be conducted. It includes question on the overall impact of the acquired competencies on the participants' practice in Occupational Health. Participants are required to participate in these feedback surveys to receive their certificates. They form an important part of our program. These surveys are necessary for quality control, certification and fund-raising efforts. Another follow-up survey of impact will be send to participants between 6 and 12 months after the completion of a course.

Program structure:
The program consists of three courses: One entry-level course: - Foundations of Occupational Health Practice (10 weeks). Two advanced courses for a higher level of competency: - Advanced Course: Clinical Occupational Medicine and Medical Surveillance (8 weeks) - Advanced Course: Management in Occupational Health Practice (8 weeks) All participants have to take the Foundation Course first in order to learn concepts and practice basic skills and competencies for occupational health preventive services in a company environment, for instance conducting workplace walk-troughs, identifying hazards, assessing risks (chemical, physical, biological, ergonomical), using the internet for finding information and recommending corrective and preventive action. The Advanced Courses will provide more detail and training. They aim to teach sufficient competencies and soft skills to work in a company and management environment as an occupational health professional. Theoretically, the sequence of the advanced courses can vary. However, in the first year theses courses will be offered sequentially, one after the other.

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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
AT CHICAGO Specific information for Course I Learning Objectives
This first course focuses on knowledge and skills regarding the exposures of humans to hazards in the environment (including the work environment) and the assessment of the magnitude of risks.

At the end of this course, the participants will be able to 1. Recognize and assess hazards and risks at the workplace 2. Describe the harmful effects of selected important environmental and workplace hazards on human health 3. Explain principles of toxicology 4. Apply principles of human toxicology to interpret workplace exposures to chemicals and their potential health effects 5. Find and extract information from MSDS or ICSC and discuss their importance for risk control 6. Explain principles of exposure assessment for physical and ergonomic hazards 7. Apply principles of ergonomic workplace design and demonstrate the use of exposure assessment tools for ergonomic hazards 8. Explain biological workplace hazards and estimate risk for specific occupations 9. Demonstrate the use of practical assessment tools, interpret their findings and develop practical solutions for the company 10. Describe methods for risk reduction & control for chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic hazards, 11. Formulate preventive action programs and apply these methods at workplaces 12. Design risk control programs including programs for medical surveillance 13. Detect occupational and environmental exposures and health effects by taking an occupational medical history, interpret the results and develop investigative questions for medical practice 14. Describe psychosocial factors at work, interpret observations, advice employees and management and develop solutions for risk reduction of psychological risk factors 15. Conduct preliminary accident investigations, describe basic methods of accident & injury investigation, apply principles of accident prevention and recommend corrective and preventive actions 16. Collect reliable and authoritative information from the internet, publications and other public resources and implement evidence-based interventions in occupational health 17. Demonstrate ethical and professional work as a professional in occupational health

Assessment Plan
The final grade of each participant will be composed of several separate grades for the different types of assignments. Following activities contribute to the final grade:

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AT CHICAGO

Type of Assignment Modules and their assignments Practical exercises: checklists, forms and reports Online tests Personal wiki TOTAL

Percentage 60% 20% 18% 2% 100%

Participants with more than 66% of marks pass the course and get a "Certificate of Completion". Participants who do not pass will get a "Certificate of Attendance" if they achieved more than 50% of marks. Participants with less then 50% of marks can request a letter attesting their enrollment and partial work. Late submission of assignments results in reduction of marks. For each day of late submission, 5% of the achieved marks will be deducted.

The distribution for final grades is: Grade A B C D Percent of Marks 90.0-100% 79.0-89.9% 66.0-78.9% Not passed

Topics
Introductions
Participants' profile

Evidence-based Occupational Health

Using the Internet for Occupational Health Sources for evidence-based practice in Occupational Health Taking a Medical Occupational History Concept of "risk factors" and "causes" in occupational medicine

Exposures, Effects and Control Options Part I

Hazards Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) Principles of Risk Control Concepts of risk assessment (RA) in environmental and occupational health

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AT CHICAGO
Principles of prevention: risk reduction and control Tools of exposure evaluation and risk assessment

Exposures, Effects and Control Options Part II

Chemicals and their health effects Case studies for common chemical exposures e.g. solvents, heavy metals, biologically active chemicals (drugs, pesticides, endocrine disruptors)

Exposures, Effects and Control Options Part III

Physical hazards Illumination, vibration, heat & cold

Exposures, Effects and Control Options Part IV

Ergonomic Workplace Design, Musculoskeletal Diseases Physiological aspects of work Principles of ergonomic design of work stations Practical risk assessment tools in the company: Practical exercises with tools such as checklists and formulas for hazards identification Evaluation of ergonomic risks

Exposures, Effects and Control Options Part V

Psychosocial Factors and Work Organisation Concepts of stress Psychosocial risk factors at work Principles for ergonomic design of work organization: shift- and night work, management styles

Injury and Accident Investigations and Prevention Programs

Root-Cause-Analysis concept Economic impact of injuries and accidents, cost/benefit calculations Human and management factors in accidents Overview on accident investigation techniques Examples of accident prevention programs Note: biological risks, occupational infections and noise-induced hearing loss will be addressed in the Advanced Course on Clinical Occupational Medicine

Mandatory books
The following two books are mandatory for this course: Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Fourth Edition (Lange Medical Books) (Paperback) by Joseph LaDou (Author), Paperback: 846 pages, Publisher: McGraw-Hill Medical; 4 edition (October 23, 2006), Language: English, ISBN-10: 0071443134 , ISBN-13: 978-0071443135 , Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches, Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds [Note: This book will be our major resource book for the entire program.]

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AT CHICAGO
Work Design: Occupational Ergonomics (Paperback) by Stephan Konz (Author), Steve Johnson (Author), Paperback: 624 pages , Publisher: Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers; 7th edition (September 11, 2007), Language: English, ISBN-10: 1890871796, ISBN-13: 978-1890871796, Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches, Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds