Summary Report for:
29-1069.09 - Preventive Medicine Physicians
Apply knowledge of general preventive medicine and public health issues to promote health care to groups or individuals, and aid in the prevention or reduction of risk of disease, injury, disability, or death. May practice population-based medicine or diagnose and treat patients in the context of clinical health promotion and disease prevention.
Sample of reported job titles:
Medical Director, Public Health Director, Occupational Medicine Physician, Public Health Officer
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- Supervise or coordinate the work of physicians, nurses, statisticians, or other professional staff members.
- Identify groups at risk for specific preventable diseases or injuries.
- Design or use surveillance tools, such as screening, lab reports, and vital records, to identify health risks.
- Teach or train medical staff regarding preventive medicine issues.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed risk reduction measures or other interventions.
- Coordinate or integrate the resources of health care institutions, social service agencies, public safety workers, or other organizations to improve the community health.
- Prepare preventive health reports including problem descriptions, analyses, alternative solutions, and recommendations.
- Develop or implement interventions to address behavioral causes of diseases.
- Design, implement, or evaluate health service delivery systems to improve the health of targeted populations.
- Perform epidemiological investigations of acute and chronic diseases.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles — Automated external defibrillators AED |
| Electronic medical thermometers — Digital medical thermometers |
| Medical head hoods — Oxygen hoods |
| Medical staff isolation or surgical masks — Medical protective masks |
| Notebook computers — Laptop computers |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Analytical or scientific software — OpenEpi *; SAS software; The MathWorks MATLAB; Tidepool Scientific Software ToxCalc |
| Data base user interface and query software — Database software; Tidepool Scientific Software Comprehensive Environmental Toxicity Information System CETIS |
| Electronic mail software — Email software |
| Medical software — Patient electronic medical record EMR software |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
* Software developed by a government agency and/or distributed as freeware or shareware.
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Knowledge
| Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
| Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. |
| Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins. |
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
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Skills
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
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Abilities
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
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Work Activities
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics. |
| Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
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Work Context
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed |
| Education |
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| Related Experience |
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job. |
| Job Training |
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers. |
| SVP Range |
(8.0 and above) |
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Education
Percentage of Respondents |
Education Level Required |
100   |
Doctoral or professional degree |
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Interests
Interest code: SIR
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
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Work Styles
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. |
| Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
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Work Values
| Recognition — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
Employment data collected from Physicians and Surgeons.
Industry data collected from Physicians and Surgeons.
| Employment (2010) |
691,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2010-2020) |
Faster than average (20% to 28%)
|
| Projected job openings (2010-2020) |
305,100 |
| Top industries (2010) |
|
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 wage data
and 2010-2020 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2010-2020). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- Physicians and Surgeons
. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition.
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