The Department is responsible for the delivery of the Masters Programme in Occupational and Environmental Health (MOEH). This programme, launched at the beginning of 2003, is based on the successful postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) programme run by the Occupational Health Programme of the Department of Community Health and Department of Medicine since 1999. As it stands, the DOH provides most of the core modules necessary for the masters’ programmes. Once students have completed the core modules, they could choose one of three masters’ streams: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Occupational Hygiene or Environmental Health. Since 2003 Dr. Saloshni Naidoo has been responsible for the co-ordination of these programmes.

Purpose

This qualification aims to provide graduates with the knowledge, skills and competence in the field of occupational and environmental health as a clinical and public health discipline, including the relevant legislation, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational hygiene, occupational and environmental toxicology and epidemiology. It is intended to ensure that practitioners in the discipline provide the highest standards of service delivery to workers and communities in protecting their health, and to management of industrial enterprises in ensuring that their obligations are met.

Objectives

• Train health professionals to acquire an in-depth knowledge of workplace related health and safety problems.
• Provide professionals with an understanding of how to identify, assess, evaluate and control such hazards
• Provide health professionals with the skills to anticipate recognise and manage associated health effects.
• Provide such professionals with the skills to conduct basic research into workplace related health issues.
• Provide such professionals with the knowledge of industrial processes and its effect on health issues