History of Occupational Medicine Project
History of Occupational Medicine Committee
Following on from the establishment of the History of Occupational Medicine Committee in 2020 which was initiated by Prof Niki Ellis, the Committee has continued its activities with ongoing enthusiasm and is attracting new members. Since the ANZSOM ASM in October 2025 an additional three members have joined the Committee, Dr Jomini Cheong, Dr Nathan Pastor and Dr Elizabeth Lord.
Occupational Physician interviews
One of our HOM Committee members Dr Farhan Shahzad, who was an inaugural member, undertook to interview 47 occupational Physicians for the purpose of recording and preserving the memories, experiences, and perspectives of occupational physicians who may otherwise be overlooked. The physicians were asked to reflect on their own practice, how the delivery of occupational medicine services has changed over the years and to provide their view of the future of the specialty. These interviews have been recorded and are available through the RACP website.
AFOEM Trainee Projects
In 2022 the Committee proposed that AFOEM trainees could select a project based on a historical aspect of occupational medicine. Advice was sought from the College regarding the Advanced Training Research Project (ATRP) requirement which OEM trainees must satisfactorily complete to be eligible for Fellowship to find out if a historical project would be accepted. We received advice that that there was currently no pre-approval process for projects and that the aim of the ATRP requirement was for trainees to demonstrate adequate research design, methodology and analysis skills. The College did not restrict the nature of research itself but projects must meet the ATRP requirements. Consequently, each year from 2022 the Committee has called for Expressions of Interest from trainees keen to select a historical occupational medicine project.
Following Dr Jess Johnson’s successful Ramazzini presentation of her project in 2024 “History of Occupational Medicine in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Project: Thematic Analysis of a Witness Seminar – ‘Occupational Medicine – Are we there yet?” in 2025 Dr Haseeb Qureshi presented his project which was based on an analysis of the 47 occupational physician interviews conducted by Dr Farhan Shahzad. His project was designed to analyse and interpret the oral testimonies to gain a deeper understanding of historical events, societal changes, career development, and personal experiences in occupational medicine and to facilitate dialogue about the future of occupational medicine.
Current projects include Dr Farhana Islam’s analysis of the 47 occupational physician interviews with a focus on the messages for current and future physicians wishing to pursue a career in occupational medicine and Dr Ye Ko’s research into the history of mesothelioma in Australia.
ICOH History 2026 Conference
The HOM was represented at the ICOH History 2026 conference by Drs Jess Johnson and Nathan Pastor. Dr Maggie Goldie and Dr Jess Johnson had submitted abstracts which were accepted as poster presentations. The presentations were connected with Maggie’s being based on the establishment and ongoing activities of the HOM Committee “Capturing the Past to Inform the Future - The Australasian Story” and Jess’s on her “Thematic Analysis of a Witness Seminar – ‘Occupational Medicine – Are we there yet?’. Jess presented both posters which were received with interest.
Witness Seminar 2026 – Shaping Our Specialty: History of the Development of Competencies
HOM Committee members have been reviewing and annotating the AFOEM and ANZSOM archives in the RACP library and noted the extensive collection of records relating to the development of the occupational physician competencies and training program. The Committee determined that our profession needed to capture oral histories from the people who were involved with the work that led to the successful introduction of the AFOEM trainee program and to consider how the program has evolved over time and thoughts about its future direction.
This is an ideal subject for another witness seminar which has now been scheduled for the afternoon of 25th October 2026 on the first day of the ANZSOM Annual Scientific Meeting in Adelaide. We are fortunate in having input to the background information from Dr Ann Long and Dr Anne Wyatt who were involved in the competencies and training development from the early days in the mid 1980s. Dr Amanda Sillcock is going to facilitate a panel of occupational physicians who will give their personal recollections of the training development past, present and future. The Committee is looking for vigorous discussion and input from the floor as well as from the panel.