Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
This video clip describes the ongoing lack of occupational health training in US medical schools. Currently most medical students receive less than eight hours of instruction in occupational health in their three years of medical school. In the 1970s, a successful union-based internship program was established in the 1970s by Tony Mazzocchi, a former leader of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW – now merged with the United Steelworkers Union). In collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Hospital, student interns investigated health and safety problems while immersed with workers in labor unions during the summer. Many of these former interns have become leading occupational and environmental health experts and credit their internship experience as formative in choosing their career path. The Montefiore and OCAW Internship Program ended in the early 1980s, but by the early 2000s it had become clear that the need for a new internship program was greater than ever. Jobs were shifting toward the service sector, the American workforce had become more diverse, and the number of new health and safety professionals had slowed to a trickle. With a grant from NIOSH, detailed interviews were conducted with the 1970’s internship students and leaders in the occupational safety and health field. Two national meetings were held to conceptualize the structure of a new program that had similar goals to the 1970’s internship: to inspire and train the “next generation” of occupational health professionals and prevent job injury and disease through a partnership with workers. Following the interviews and meetings, a report that assessed the impact of the 1970’s program on the careers of medical and public health students occurred. Soon thereafter, the Occupational Health Intern Program (OHIP) was established as a national program. In 2004, under the leadership of Robert Harrison (Principal Investigator), Gail Bateson (OHIP Advisory Board Chair), Katherine Kirkland (AOEC Executive Director), and a group of health professionals, including several former interns, OHIP recruited its first class. Thanks to filmmaker Abby Ginzberg for permission to post clips from her wonderful 1989 film, Those Who Know Don’t Tell. To see more of her amazing work, visit the website socialactionmedia.com/.
This video clip describes the ongoing lack of occupational health training in US medical schools. Currently most medical students receive less than eight hours of instruction in occupational health in their three years of medical school. In the 1970s, a successful union-based internship program was established in the 1970s by Tony Mazzocchi, a former leader of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW – now merged with the United Steelworkers Union). In collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Hospital, student interns investigated health and safety problems while immersed with workers in labor unions during the summer. Many of these former interns have become leading occupational and environmental health experts and credit their internship experience as formative in choosing their career path. The Montefiore and OCAW Internship Program ended in the early 1980s, but by the early 2000s it had become clear that the need for a new internship program was greater than ever. Jobs were shifting toward the service sector, the American workforce had become more diverse, and the number of new health and safety professionals had slowed to a trickle. With a grant from NIOSH, detailed interviews were conducted with the 1970’s internship students and leaders in the occupational safety and health field. Two national meetings were held to conceptualize the structure of a new program that had similar goals to the 1970’s internship: to inspire and train the “next generation” of occupational health professionals and prevent job injury and disease through a partnership with workers. Following the interviews and meetings, a report that assessed the impact of the 1970’s program on the careers of medical and public health students occurred. Soon thereafter, the Occupational Health Intern Program (OHIP) was established as a national program. In 2004, under the leadership of Robert Harrison (Principal Investigator), Gail Bateson (OHIP Advisory Board Chair), Katherine Kirkland (AOEC Executive Director), and a group of health professionals, including several former interns, OHIP recruited its first class. Thanks to filmmaker Abby Ginzberg for permission to post clips from her wonderful 1989 film, Those Who Know Don’t Tell. To see more of her amazing work, visit the website socialactionmedia.com/.
