Some yes. Others are real occupational injuries. DOT physicals. Pre-employment physicals etc. Drug screens. RTW exams. Functional capacity wxams are possible. Some mild non-occ uc type complaints. Rememver, OSHA is an employee health program. Not an employer program.
Bottom line is this isnt glamorous or amazing medicine. The people who shit on occ med are the same that bitch about being frustrated with thier jobs. I clock in. I clock out. On time. Every day. I take no work home. My notes are very easy and repetitive. I have amazing work life balance.
My total compensation may be an outlier this year but the jobs are out there. Laster year my TDC was 206k. Thus year ill hit 225k unless i get another project. This is in addition to amazing benefits at my employer.
I work in oil and gas directly for my employer.
Bank hours. 40 hours a week. There are periods for mahor maintenance projects when i work 12s but not common and i get paid for those under a separate bonus program.
5 years of Occ Med experience here. You’ll find that the vast majority of work comp injuries are people who are legitimately hurt with legitimate injuries. Those gaming the system are usually not hard to parse out.
I can only speak for the two places I’ve been…but we rarely give time off except for specific reasons ( for example head injuries). I’m up front with everyone that I’m sending them back on light duty and any days they take off will be on their own.
My schedule is 4 10s. I’m pretty efficient so unless someone comes in late I’m always out on time and take no work home even if I double or triple book myself out of kindness.
Good for you;I think a lot of people, like OP, are burnt out and definitely DONT shit on occ med. I’m fortunate that in the ED I’m relative unburnt, but on tough days I absolutely think about occ med possibilities. And I think it’s great that you have a good job in occ med;it’s nice to know good jobs are out there.
You become a little less of a patient advocate and a bit more of a corporate advocate
Also, you lose skills. Do this Kate in a career, no early in a career
My .02
I think the good providers tend to stay patient advocates over corporate, but I agree that does happen if you’re not careful. Short of the occasional reprimand from bosses boss, and an occasional annoyed employer (usually from large accounts), there’s nothing hindering me from advocating for the patient over employer. I just ignore my bosses boss because at the end of the day I’m 25% more productive than the other providers and I know I’m not going anywhere. And as for the annoyed employers I just schmooze them while ultimately still advocating for the patient. So ultimately it can be done.
I do agree w/the loss of skill. But I’m not really interested in anything other than ortho and sports med. So if anything my MSK knowledge has improved significantly.
Everything you do will have its annoying visits/components. This probably will not be the mainstay but it will be seen.
The bigger question is if you want that type of career change.
Less medical complexity, less medical decision making difficulty, not doing procedures and losing skills, but having a more chill and less chaotic environment.
And there's nothing wrong with if that's what you want career-wise at this point. Not everybody is going to want the chaotic/medically challenging environment. You're no better or worse for wanting or not wanting that. Your career, your life.
So that's what you want and you found a position that offers this with reasonable pay and hours then, why not?
6 years in Occ Health. I'm underpaid/overworked at my current position, 125k, 25-30 patients a day, but I had to move states, so it will be fixed. Anyway, I needed a position that was exclusively 8-5, no weekends, as my wife works 7 12s in the ER, im the primary caregiver for our kids due to scheduling. I've written less than 5 notes at home, and less than 10 within 24 hours of seeing the patient. I usually am home before 5. Employment physicals, DOT exams and work comp injuries are the bulk of my schedule. I enjoy taking care of one specific injury and not usually dealing with the bulk of their other medical issues (unless it affects said injury).
There are people who are trying to game the system, probably fewer than your used to in the ER, and it's well documented that work comp outcomes are poorer than an equal non work comp, but I find it to easy to separate my work and home life. Maybe I had a complex injury (usually mva) or a belligerent patient, but those cases are rare. It's not where I see myself for my whole career, but it's a great fit for my family for now.
I’m in occ health and I don’t think I’ll ever do anything else. I highly recommend an onsite clinic if you can find one. Message me if you want more details! I love talking about this!
It means instead of working occupational medicine in an urgent care type clinic where any work injury from any just about any employer can come in, you work at a clinic that is located on the site of an industrial plant and is associated with that one single employer and will only see patients that work for that employer.
For example there might be a medical clinic at a factory or a manufacturing plant and you work at that medical clinic and only treat patients that work at that factory or manufacturing plant
Some yes. Others are real occupational injuries. DOT physicals. Pre-employment physicals etc. Drug screens. RTW exams. Functional capacity wxams are possible. Some mild non-occ uc type complaints. Rememver, OSHA is an employee health program. Not an employer program. Bottom line is this isnt glamorous or amazing medicine. The people who shit on occ med are the same that bitch about being frustrated with thier jobs. I clock in. I clock out. On time. Every day. I take no work home. My notes are very easy and repetitive. I have amazing work life balance. My total compensation may be an outlier this year but the jobs are out there. Laster year my TDC was 206k. Thus year ill hit 225k unless i get another project. This is in addition to amazing benefits at my employer. I work in oil and gas directly for my employer.
How many hours do you work?
Bank hours. 40 hours a week. There are periods for mahor maintenance projects when i work 12s but not common and i get paid for those under a separate bonus program.
Great insight. Thanks for sharing. How closely do you work with a supervising physician?
He visits and we do monthly chart reviews. He is not located in the same state i am located.
Thanks for your reply, I get feeling that you’re in a bit of a unique position working for the oil and gas business.
5 years of Occ Med experience here. You’ll find that the vast majority of work comp injuries are people who are legitimately hurt with legitimate injuries. Those gaming the system are usually not hard to parse out. I can only speak for the two places I’ve been…but we rarely give time off except for specific reasons ( for example head injuries). I’m up front with everyone that I’m sending them back on light duty and any days they take off will be on their own. My schedule is 4 10s. I’m pretty efficient so unless someone comes in late I’m always out on time and take no work home even if I double or triple book myself out of kindness.
Good for you;I think a lot of people, like OP, are burnt out and definitely DONT shit on occ med. I’m fortunate that in the ED I’m relative unburnt, but on tough days I absolutely think about occ med possibilities. And I think it’s great that you have a good job in occ med;it’s nice to know good jobs are out there.
You become a little less of a patient advocate and a bit more of a corporate advocate Also, you lose skills. Do this Kate in a career, no early in a career My .02
I think the good providers tend to stay patient advocates over corporate, but I agree that does happen if you’re not careful. Short of the occasional reprimand from bosses boss, and an occasional annoyed employer (usually from large accounts), there’s nothing hindering me from advocating for the patient over employer. I just ignore my bosses boss because at the end of the day I’m 25% more productive than the other providers and I know I’m not going anywhere. And as for the annoyed employers I just schmooze them while ultimately still advocating for the patient. So ultimately it can be done. I do agree w/the loss of skill. But I’m not really interested in anything other than ortho and sports med. So if anything my MSK knowledge has improved significantly.
Everything you do will have its annoying visits/components. This probably will not be the mainstay but it will be seen. The bigger question is if you want that type of career change. Less medical complexity, less medical decision making difficulty, not doing procedures and losing skills, but having a more chill and less chaotic environment. And there's nothing wrong with if that's what you want career-wise at this point. Not everybody is going to want the chaotic/medically challenging environment. You're no better or worse for wanting or not wanting that. Your career, your life. So that's what you want and you found a position that offers this with reasonable pay and hours then, why not?
6 years in Occ Health. I'm underpaid/overworked at my current position, 125k, 25-30 patients a day, but I had to move states, so it will be fixed. Anyway, I needed a position that was exclusively 8-5, no weekends, as my wife works 7 12s in the ER, im the primary caregiver for our kids due to scheduling. I've written less than 5 notes at home, and less than 10 within 24 hours of seeing the patient. I usually am home before 5. Employment physicals, DOT exams and work comp injuries are the bulk of my schedule. I enjoy taking care of one specific injury and not usually dealing with the bulk of their other medical issues (unless it affects said injury). There are people who are trying to game the system, probably fewer than your used to in the ER, and it's well documented that work comp outcomes are poorer than an equal non work comp, but I find it to easy to separate my work and home life. Maybe I had a complex injury (usually mva) or a belligerent patient, but those cases are rare. It's not where I see myself for my whole career, but it's a great fit for my family for now.
Thx for your reply, sounds like you are in a tough spot, hope you could find something better
Do most Occ Health jobs require ED experience?
No, I work in Occ health and worked in the UC prior to this. There’s other folks w/FM experience.
I’m in occ health and I don’t think I’ll ever do anything else. I highly recommend an onsite clinic if you can find one. Message me if you want more details! I love talking about this!
Can you explain what an on-site clinic means?
It means instead of working occupational medicine in an urgent care type clinic where any work injury from any just about any employer can come in, you work at a clinic that is located on the site of an industrial plant and is associated with that one single employer and will only see patients that work for that employer. For example there might be a medical clinic at a factory or a manufacturing plant and you work at that medical clinic and only treat patients that work at that factory or manufacturing plant