Value of occupational medicine board certification

Objective: To assess the impact of occupational medicine board certification and career stage on practice characteristics. Methods: Two hundred sixty occupational medicine physicians completed a questionnaire and 25 activity log descriptions about 72 items in 9 major domains. For each item, the percentage of activities involving the item and the percentage of physicians conducting the item at least once were calculated. Results were analyzed by board certification status and career stage. Results: Board-certified physicians had more-diverse practice activities and skills. They were more involved in management and public health-oriented activities, with greater emphasis on toxicology and less on musculoskeletal disorders. The noncertified physicians received more payment from workers' compensation. Early-career physicians spent more time in direct injury/illness treatment, being paid by workers' compensation, and addressing musculoskeletal problems. Conclusions: Formal training confers advantages in practice diversity and population medicine orientation.