SWCOEH PhD candidate Rosandra “Røs” Daywalker appointed Medical Director at WorkSTEPS
HOUSTON (Nov. 1, 2022) – Rosandra “Røs” Daywalker, MD, a PhD candidate in the Total Worker Health® (TWH) Track at the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, has been appointed Medical Director and Total Worker Health Subject Matter Expert at WorkSTEPS at Work.
Dr. Daywalker is currently working on her dissertation for a PhD in TWH after completing her residency in Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM). She is the first TWH track doctoral student in the nation after being granted a competitive traineeship by the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, the NIOSH-funded Educational and Resarch Center at UTHealth School of Public Health. Dr. Daywalker also completed her OEM residency at the SWCOEH under the direction of William “Brett” Perkison, MD, MPH.
“Dr. Daywalker’s diligence in pursuing both her occupational and environmental medicine residency along with her PhD in TWH enhanced how well she has been able to develop a holistic approach towards occupational medicine practice,” said Dr. Perkison, the OEM Residency Director at the SWCOEH. “Integrating the prevention and treatment of both work and non-work related injuries is exactly what employers want to offer to their employees to keep their workforce healthy and productive.”
WorkSTEPS at Work is a comprehensive provider of occupational health, safety and business services. In the dual roles of Medical Director and TWH Subject Matter Expert, Dr. Daywalker will oversee all medical operations and reviews, as well as occupational health programs and research. She will also provide thought leadership in the areas of her training, including occupational and environmental medicine, lifestyle medicine, and public health.
“Thanks to her excellent training and the business community’s interest in TWH, Dr. Daywalker has been able to secure an excellent part time position WorkSTEPS at Work before her graduation date,” Dr. David Gimeno, SWCOEH Center Director and TWH Program Director. “Her employment is a great start for our TWH program and a tribute to Dr. Daywalker’s hard work during her education with us.”
“I was excited to take the position because it is a unique opportunity to utilize my training in both Occupational Medicine and TWH,” Dr. Daywayker said. “I get to work with companies from a variety of industries and work with international partners as well. This amazing opportunity came to me through two adjunct professors in the OEM Residency at SWCOEH: Dr. Blythe Mansfield (one of my mentors) and Dr. Ben Hoffman, who is now my Chief Medical Officer at WorkSTEPS and who recruited me.”
The SWCOEH provides a variety of graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and TWH.
The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health is part of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health