A New Multidisciplinary Training Approach to Advance OS&H Practice in WNY

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DESCRIPTION (Provided by Applicant): Project Summary The specific aim of this occupational safety and health (OS&H) training program is to provide an effective multidisciplinary training OS&H experience for Master's level graduate students of four different academic departments in order to significantly strengthen and increase the pool of Western New York (WNY) OS&H practitioners through coursework, practical training and research experiences. The program will provide trainees with a concentration in OS&H while obtaining a graduate degree from the Departments of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Social and Preventive Medicine, Rehabilitation Science and Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Trainees from the Departments complete the same 3 required core courses in Occupational Safety and Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Epidemiology, as well as a required 4-day training course in OS&H standards through the University's Atlantic OSHA Training Center within the Toxicology Research Center. Additionally, trainees from all disciplines participate in a journal club and attend safety professional meetings. Surveys, course grades and career tracking are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Advantages of the proposed training program are that: 1. It teaches core competencies in injury prevention, epidemiology and industrial hygiene in a new educational program not offered anywhere else in WNY 2. The MS students who participate in the program come from multiple departments to better reflect the full diversity of backgrounds of OS&H practitioners in WNY. 3. It leverages existing coursework and from high quality graduate level programs that have an established track record of OS&H. 4. The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows trainees to learn together in order to gain the breadth of knowledge necessary to address today's OS&H challenges. 5. A variety of educational approaches used in the semester long courses, OSHA training course, journal club, and interacting with OS&H professionals provide a unique learning opportunity designed to encourage enrollment and retention among trainees. 6. Training is ensured to remain cohesive through existing teaching and research collaborations between faculty in the participating departments. 7. Trainees acquire OS&H field experiences through partnerships with industry and professional safety organizations that have already been established. 8. Graduates are well educated in both research and practice, and are sufficiently prepared to work towards a careerasaCSP¿1/2orlH/CIH Relevance WNY has significant workforces in manufacturing, agricultural and service-related industries that have high rates of injuries and illness but very few opportunities exist for individuals who want to pursue graduate education in OS&H in this region of the country. This training program is designed specifically to strengthen the expertise and increase the pool of qualified OS&H professionals in WNY in order to more adequately protect its workforces.