Core Education – Doctors:
Occupational Health at the University of Manchester
By Anne Clayson
At the University of Manchester, we have over 60 years of global influence in Occupational Health, with our department being the first Occupational Medicine department in the world. We are at the forefront of research, development and education in Occupational Health, Occupational Medicine and Occupational Hygiene.
Our key partner is the UK government Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for which we provide research and monitoring services in collaboration with the University’s Thomas Ashton Institute for Risk and Regulatory Research. We also have research partnerships with universities throughout the UK, as well as the UK government, European partners and professional bodies in occupational health. Via the Thomas Ashton Institute and the department’s world-leading occupational health monitoring project, The Health and Occupational Research (THOR) network, we bring new knowledge on hazardous substances and their exposure alongside other emerging threats in the workplace. This informs future policy and regulatory practices. As a university in a city with a long history of progressive social thinking about work and health, we maintain traditions of progressive and inclusive research-informed teaching and learning. We Nurture student progression towards chosen career paths supported by professional bodies, including the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOHN) and the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
Occupational health demands interdisciplinary learning involving multi-professional teams. This is reflected in our approach to teaching and learning, our teaching staff, and our use of technology. Our teaching staff include clinically trained doctors, occupational physicians, chartered occupational hygienists, occupational health nurses and physiotherapists. By joining our online blended courses in occupational health, occupational medicine or occupational hygiene, students join a large community of fellow professional learners working in a variety of contexts. These range from oil and gas installations and military occupations to hospitals and GP practices. By embracing new technologies and keeping up to date with the latest industry challenges, our online, blended Master’s courses in Occupational Health, Occupational Medicine and Occupational Hygiene bring opportunities to make connections between different stakeholders in occupational health. This may be regulatory science, medicine, or the many facets of work and organisation. On-campus practical events in occupational hygiene and medicine are available to all our students, which will enhance opportunities to connect to practitioners worldwide.
As members of the University, students have access to all the resources of the University of Manchester John Rylands Research Institute and Library and our University of Manchester Library, one of 5 UK National Research Libraries. Full and part-time study pathways are available, and it is also possible to study elements of our MSc courses as CPD units with taught components leading to DOccMed and MFOM (part 2) certification. From Sept 2023 we are expecting to offer the DipOccHealthPrac CPD component within our Masters’ programmes and to offer masters’ level CPD credits in Occupational Hygiene. Depending on experience and qualifications study could be one of the following courses:
MSc Occupational Medicine – including CPD in Occupational Medicine FOM-approved
MSc Occupational Hygiene – BOHS-approved course
Scholarship opportunities for eligible candidates include the University’s Equity and Merit Scholarships and for former students at the University of Manchester, other alumni benefits are available.
Anne Clayson, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Manchester
My background is in occupational and environmental health teaching and research, qualifying in Manchester in 1995, where I went on to specialise in microbiological risk assessment. I represented the Food Standards Agency on the Expert Committee for Pesticide Residues in Food and have recently completed my rotation as UK representative on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA). Recent research activity includes the UK National Core Study PROTECT collaboration with HSE and University of Manchester, examining occupational and environmental transition of Covid19, specifically leading the Thematic Analysis of UK HSE Outbreak investigation work package. Other Covid-related work includes evaluating Legionella trends in commercial and workplace buildings before and during the pandemic. Past research examples include occupational health service evaluations in mining, and qualitative research on occupational ill health and return to work practices. I have over 20 years’ experience of leading and teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate health science programmes, in several UK universities. I develop curriculum frameworks and deliver MSc courses in occupational and environmental health aligning to our professional bodies BOHS and FOM, along with recent experience of IOSH and CIEH curriculum implementation. I am a member of the International Society of Exposure Science Education and Training working group, which aims to develop a European wide curriculum framework for exposure science. My current position is Postgraduate Teaching Lead for the Division of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Manchester. I am the Programme Director for MSc Occupational Hygiene and co-director for MPH Occupational Health.
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