SWCOEH Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program leads ACOEM into matching partnership with NRMP

Published: September 9, 2024

Brett Perkison, MD, MPH, the director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) Residency at the Southwest Center for Environmental and Occupational Health (SWCOEH) at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, helped lead the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) residencies and fellowships into a new era. Beginning this fall, OEM residencies across the United States will participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

This significant step was decided during the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Directors Association’s (OEMRDA) annual meeting at the American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) 2024 in Orlando, Florida in August.

“Joining the NRMP is a crucial step forward for our specialty,” Perkison said. “We can provide students with a definitive pathway forward for them to pursue OEM. We can also more easily recruit residents who might not match in other specialties in the general match. Many aspects of OEM including an emphasis on prevention and an emphasis on work-life balance resonate highly with the next generation of public health leaders.”

The decision to participate in the Main Residency Match marks a historic moment that finally streamlines the matching process for applicants and residency programs, and aligns with ACOEM's commitment to advancing the specialty and supporting the development of the next generation of leaders in occupational and environmental health.

This initiative is expected to significantly enhance the visibility of occupational and environmental medicine as a specialty, attracting a diverse pool of high-caliber applicants. By using the NRMP’s advanced algorithm, OEMRDA will transition from its earlier, manual matching process to a more structured and equitable system, ensuring better access and outcomes for applicants and residency programs.

The SWCOEH provides graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health^® programs.