LFOM - Occupational Medicine

The 2018-2019 LFOM Year 1 course is now fully-subscribed.   Please contact elearning@icgp.ie if you would like to be added to the waitlist

Introduction

This course is for doctors interested in occupational medicine and who are seeking to improve their knowledge base and skills. The course is run jointly by the ICGP and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI).   
 

Course principal: Dr Conor McDonnell, email: conor.mcdonnell@icgp.ie
Course administrator: Ms Yvette Dalton, email: yvette.dalton@icgp.ie

What is the aim of the course?

The aim of this course is to provide course participants with formal instruction in occupational medicine and to prepare them for the sitting of the LFOM examination run by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, RCPI. This is a two year course delivered through a combination of workshops and home study.

At the end of completing the written work component for this course, each participant will have submitted the following to the ICGP assessor:

• 3 occupational medicine clinical cases
• 1 occupational injury clinical case
• 1 worksite visit report
• 1 project   

Each candidate will receive feedback on each piece of written work submitted. Ideally candidates should have access to occupational medicine cases themselves. Candidates who succeed the end-point examination will be awarded the Licentiate of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. For the MFOM (membership exam), once a candidate passes the LFOM exam and intends to sit the MFOM exam, the MCQ result may be carried forward to the MFOM written exam, exempting the candidate from sitting MCQ paper 1.

Objectives

This course aims to provide doctors with:

• Formal instruction in occupational medicine
• Guidance on accepted standards of provision of occupational health services including legislation, ethics and communication
• An overview of the identification, prevention and management of occupational hazards, injuries and illnesses.
• Advice on how to access further information in occupational medicine and encouragement to participate in relevant ongoing continuing medical education.

Course participants may be:

• Currently providing occupational health services to employers; or
• Considering future provision of occupational health services; or
• Seeking to improve their knowledge of occupational health matters for their working patients
• Occupational medicine specialist registrars

Who can apply?

• Candidates must hold a medical qualification acceptable to the ICGP and FOM RCPI.
• Candidates must be a registered and authorised to practice medicine by their appropriate national body.
• This course is open to all registered general practitioners.
• GP specialist registrars may apply once they have written permission from their GP training scheme director and they are training in a general practice which provides an occupational medicine service, ie. they will have access to occupational medicine cases.

Course Structure

The course will follow a blended learning format. A time commitment of approximately six hours per week will be needed during the academic term. Two (one and a half day) workshops per academic year are organised as part of the course. The workshop may include a worksite visit. The duration of the course is two years.

Course Workshop Dates – Registrants of Years 1 & 2:

Workshop 1: Friday, 28 September (all day) & Saturday, 29 September, 2018 (1/2 day a.m.), Hilton Hotel, Kilmainham, Dublin 8.

Workshop 2: Friday, 1 February (all day) & Saturday, 2 February, 2019 (1/2 day a.m.), Hilton Hotel, Kilmainham, Dublin 8.

Course Material

Course material will be delivered and accessed through a password protected area on the ICGP website throughout the academic year. Course participants are encouraged to actively participate on the password protected web based discussion board.

Methods of Assessment

In order to satisfactory complete this course, participants will be required to:

Submit the following course written work in year 1:

• 3 occupational medicine clinical cases
• 1 occupational injury clinical case

Submit the following course written work in year 2:

• 1 worksite visit report
• 1 project. These may include policy documents on sharps Injuries and exposure to bodily fluids, a pregnancy risk assessment, an ergonomic workstation assessment etc.

Course Participants are required to:

• Participate on the ICGP discussion board during year 1 and 2.
• Complete MCQs where available after each unit for self-assessment during year 1 and 2. 
• Ultimately, the aim of the distance learning course is to prepare candidates for the RCPI LFOM exam.

LFOM Examination & Application

NB: It is your responsibility to contact the RCPI to apply for the final examination.

The RCPI have a dedicated examinations support team in their Dublin headquarters. They are there to guide you through your full exam journey, from application to conferring. They are present at every exam and always happy to answer your questions. If you would like to speak to someone about this exam, please contact Mr Iain Martel:

email:  iainmartel@rcpi.ie
Phone: +353 1 863 9723
Website:  RCPI LFOM Examination Information and Registration
 

Testimonial

"Having completed the ICGP LFOM preparatory course earlier this year and subsequently passing the clinical cases and MCQ Exam I can highly recommend this course.

For busy doctors already practising occupational medicine and those considering this specialty, this course offers practical lectures, online course material and an interactive discussion board.

Importantly for post graduate learning, this course provides valuable support from course directors negotiating clinical cases and work place assessments required for LFOM portfolio including dilemmas encountered in daily practice.

The weekend workshops offer an enjoyable opportunity to discuss cases and learn from specialists in the field, as well as meet up with new colleagues and useful contacts for the future."-  Dr Sean Moffatt, GP & Sports Physician, Mayo