title: Undergraduate teaching of occupational medicine in European schools of medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  General practitioners play or should play a role in occupational medicine (OM), either in diagnosing occupational diseases or in counseling on return to work. Nevertheless, their training has been reported to be insufficient in most single country studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of this study were to analyze the content and extent of undergraduate teaching of OM in European medical schools.
  
  
  METHODS
  An e-mail questionnaire survey of the teaching of OM to undergraduates was undertaken from December 2010 to April 2011 in all medical schools and medical faculties listed in 27 European countries (n = 305).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 305 universities identified, 135 answered to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 44%. The mean number of hours given to formal instruction in occupational medicine to medical undergraduates was 25.5 h. Nevertheless, this number of hours varied widely between countries, but also within countries. Overall, 27% of medical schools gave their students 10 h of teaching or less, 52% 20 h or less and 69% 30 h or less. Whereas occupational diseases and principles of prevention were covered in most schools, disability and return to work were very poorly represented among the topics that were taught to students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dedicated undergraduate teaching on occupational health or OM in European medical schools is present in most medical schools, usually at a low level, but is very variable between and within countries. Medical schools across Europe are very unequal to provide qualifying doctors education on the topics they will frequently come across in their working lives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine, Rouen University Hospital, 1, rue de Germont, 76000, Rouen, France, jean-francois.gehanno@chu-rouen.fr.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gehanno
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bulat
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martinez-Jarreta
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pauncu
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.forename: P B A
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.forename: F J H
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Braeckman
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000193:education*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires