MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN TRAINING OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

1. MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN TRAINING OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Prof. Dr. Raphael Masschelein Occupational, Environmental and Insurance Medicine K.U. Leuven, Belgium R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

2. Multidisciplinarity in training of occupational health professionals • Introduction • The shift from monodisciplinary services to multidisciplinary OHS (EU 89/391 • What professional competencies are needed in response to the demands? • Multidisciplinary training as a response to the new demands • How does multidisciplinarity functions on the floor? • Conclusion: An outcome based evaluation of the multidisciplinary model R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

3. 1. Introduction • The concept of multidisciplinarity • Multidisciplinarity • Involving different disciplines • Involving different subspecialism within one discipline (e.g. medicine) • Interdisciplinarity • Multiprofessional collaboration R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

4. 2. Multidisciplinarity as a response to new developments in OHS • Charges in organisational needs and demands in the labour world • Limitations of the former monodisciplinary services of occupational medicine and occupational safety • Shift in prevalency of work related health and safety risks: decreasing traditional work pathology and increasing psychosocial and multicausal health complaints • Changes in the needs and demands of the workers and employers R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

5. EU Directive 89/391 • Transformation of monodisciplinary services towards multidisciplinary services • Introduction of new disciplines in the field of OHS • To increase the efficienty and the quality of the services to the empoloyer and the workers • To respond to the changing needs • To limit the impact of medicalisation(?) R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

6. 3. What professional competencies are required? (1) • The competencies needed to guarantee a sufficient protection of the health, safety and wellbeing of the workers during their work by controling work hazards and risks and by comprehensive health surveillance of the workers • “to promote healthy workers in a healthy workplace” • the occupational health and safety professionals support the employer and the workers in their active efforts and responsibilities to develop an integrated health and safety policy within the enterprise and to comply with the existing health and safety regulations R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

7. 3. What professional competencies are needed in response to the demands? (2) Central competency fields are: • To manage health surveillance in workers (from acute interventions to maintaining health and work capacity and work place health promotion) for individuals and groups . For this field health professionals (mainly occupational health physicians and occupational health nurses) are needed. • To deal with hazards and risk factors in the work place by risk inventary evaluation and management. For this fields different professional groups can contribute based on their knowlegde and skills on production, work, work environment, work organisation (mainly safety engineer, occupational hygienist, occupational psychologist, ergonomist) R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

8. 3. General competencies required for all OHS professionals (3) • To understand and to function in the framework of the existing OHS structure and organisation, as determined by local, national and international regulations • To collaborate with the different actors of the multidisciplinary OHS (division of tasks and responsibilities) • To understand and to function within the complex social and economical organisation of the enterprise R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

9. 4. Multidisciplinarity and training for the right professional competencies(1) The required professional competencies are provided with adequate training based on: • the selection of the appropiate basic disciplines and other admission conditions • the organisation of an accepted and recognised specialist training program • the assesment of the entrance conditions for the profession • An program of continuing professional development The organisation of the training lies: - mostly with the higher education institutions (universities, faculties, high schools) providing also the basic training - in a number of training institutes specialised in different OHS training programs R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

10. Aspects of multidisciplinarity in the training for the right professional competencies (2) • Multidisciplinary in the curriculum of the basic (undergraduate training) • Multidisciplinarity in the curriculum of the specialist training • General OHS competencies • Legislation on OHS and relevant labour and social law • Organisation of labour, production and enterprise • Structure and function of OHS • Common methods for risk evaluation and control (e.g. statistical and epidemiological methods) • Basic knowlegde of tasks and functioning of the different OHS professionals • Communication and team working within the OHS and the enterprise R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

11. Aspects of multidisciplinarity in the training for the right professional competencies (3) • Educational methods to reïnforce multidisciplinarity within the specialist training • At the level of the curriculum: increasing the part of courses of relevant other disciplines • At the level of teachers: introducing more teacher from other disciplines (with relevant experience) • At the student level: • Introducing specific courses (including skills training and practice) focusing on multidisciplinarity • Integration of (parts: from <10 to >75%) of specialist training for different OHS professionals R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

12. Aspects of multidisciplinarity in the training for the right professional competencies (4) • Positive aspects in multidisciplinary training • Improve the scope of student on the field of occupational safety and health and especialy on the functioning of the OHS • Leads to better understanding of the role and the position of the different OH professionals • Provide the students with social skills for collaboration and team working • Is more cost-effective • Negative points or threads: • Dilution of the specialist identy and profile of the different OH professionals by overemphasing the general OHS competencies • Can induce superficial learning • Negative perception by student groups R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

13. The multidisciplinarity on the field The aim of the multidisciplinary OHS organisation was to provide a better service to employers and employees. • need for the outcome evaluation • Positive aspects: • increased capacity for work related hazards and risks evaluation, especially for new risks (psychosocial factors) • Better climate for communication and collaboration within OHS • Negative aspects and threads: • Increased cost without improved efficiency (overlap and redundancy in tasks) • Unclear definition of role and tasks of the different OHS professionals • More complex administration and bureaucracy especially for SME’s R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005

14. Conclusions • Multidisciplinarity or multiprofessional collaboration is the logic answer to cope with new and more complex health and safety risks in the work and work environment and new demands for health surveillance • The occupational health professionals should adapt to this new situation: • By improving their training and learn new competencies especially to function better in a multiprofessional OHS • By developing a better specialist identity as a condition for a clear position within the OHS and towards the clients • The OHS must prove the added value of multidisciplinarity in practice by better and more cost-effective outcomes R. Masschelein. Multidisciplinarity.ICOH2005