Spotlight on Specialties: Preventive Medicine

Nature of the work
The specialty of Preventive Medicine focuses on the health of individuals and defined populations in order to protect, promote and maintain health and well-being, and to prevent disease, disability, and premature death. Physicians practicing in the field of preventive medicine most often specialize in aerospace medicine, occupational medicine or public health and general preventive medicine:

• Aerospace Medicine: focuses on the crews and passengers of air and space vehicles.
• Occupational Medicine: focuses on the relationships between the health of workers; work policies; and environmental aspects of the workplace.
• Public Health and General Preventive Medicine: deals with health promotion and disease prevention in communities and in defined populations.
• Physicians in preventive medicine may also pursue training in Medical Toxicology, which uses special knowledge to evaluate and manage patients with accidental or purposeful poisoning through drugs or toxins.

Training
Residency training in preventive medicine includes a year of supervised postgraduate clinical training, an academic year of training leading to a Master's degree in public health followed by one year of preventive medicine residency training. Practice in a subspecialty requires up to two years of additional training.

Demand and salary
According to the American College of Preventive Medicine Web site, "the demand for trained occupational and environmental physicians in private industry, education, and government agencies far exceeds the supply, and the need continues to grow." The annual salary for preventive medicine specialists ranges from $80,000 to $183,000.

For more information
Visit any of the following organizational websites:

• Aerospace Medical Association
• American Board of Preventive Medicine
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• American College of Preventive Medicine
• Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine

Sources: The American Board of Medical Specialties, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the Faculty Salary Survey, 2002, Association of American Medical Colleges.