Occupational Medicine

Applications for this course are made online via the University's postgraduate applications website.

When you apply, the Programme Description for this level is 'Occupational Medicine (CPD)'.

Please note: students from overseas may need to apply for short-term student immigration permission if they wish to attend the (non-compulsory) Occupational Hygiene and Medicine practical course on campus in Manchester.

Application deadlines

The deadline for the March 2026 intake is 20 February 2026.

The deadline for the September 2026 intake is 18 September 2026.

Applicants will need to submit all of the required application documentation by the above deadline. Any applicant with information outstanding at this date will be deemed to have missed the deadline.

We recommend that you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.

Who this course is for?
This course is suitable if you are a GP and anticipate that occupational medicine will comprise less than 50% of your time.

Our CPD course is also suitable for doctors practising in other areas of medicine who would like to learn more about occupational medicine, such as psychiatrists, dermatologists and respiratory doctors, among many others. Full details of the FOM Diploma examination regulations are available on the FOM website.

The two units (Fundamentals of Occupational Health and Introduction to Work-Related Ill-Health) provide an entry-level qualification aimed principally at GPs, covering the main issues affecting health and work.

On completion of our course, you will have achieved a level of knowledge and competence appropriate to a generalist working in occupational health.

Please note that no formal academic qualification from the University is awarded at this level. However, successful completion of the course gives you 30 university credits that you can put towards further academic study, such as a PGDip, PGCert or MSc in Occupational Medicine. Students are provided with a certificate of attendance, making the holder eligible to apply for the FOM DOccMed examinations.

The CPD in Occupational Medicine aims to introduce the common knowledge framework required in occupational medicine, health and hygiene disciplines, and provide you with an understanding and awareness of the foundation principles of occupational health.

The course provides you with knowledge of occupational hazards and risk assessment for worker health protection, and of occupational diseases arising from specific types of work and occupation.

The aim is that you will apply this knowledge to understanding the complex factors involved in the manifestation of workplace ill health and develop your understanding of health assessment, surveillance, and health screening.

The learning outcomes are intended to:

introduce you to the knowledge and skills required in the areas of medicine, science and hygiene that are encompassed by occupational health;
describe and define the relationships and responsibilities of the occupational physician and occupational hygienist with management, trade union employees and other branches of the profession/other appropriate agencies;
give you a good foundation on which to build and extend your knowledge of occupational health in response to future changes and developments;
provide you with an understanding of the concept of work-related and occupational disease, including types of commonly reported diseases and their recognition, mechanisms and causes;
enable you to apply the concept of epidemiology to health surveillance, health assessment and health screening.

The course is delivered through a blend of written materials in electronic format and interactive teaching material, supported by seminars and tutorials.

The CPD course provides a taster of what we provide as part of our learning materials for our postgraduate course (MSc) in Occupational Medicine.

All materials are accessed solely online, primarily via the University Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas.

You will require regular access to a modern personal computer (Windows or Mac) with a stable internet connection. You should be confident in using the internet for web browsing and sending emails and also using word processing software, such as Microsoft Word.

Please note: support is provided wherever possible for students experiencing technical issues via the University's IT Helpdesk. However, we cannot be held responsible for problems arising from students failing to ensure they have the minimum technical specification.

University attendance
There are currently two intakes a year for this course (March and September). Both intakes will be entirely online and will not require attendance at the University.

As part of the course, CPD students can also register for our practical occupational hygiene and medicine workshop, which is on campus in Manchester, and will take place over 4 days in 2025. The workshop dates are released after students have registered on the programme. Attendance is optional and non-attendance does not affect your CPD progression.

The Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) examination is in two parts consisting of a multiple-choice examination paper AND a portfolio assessment with an oral examination based on that portfolio. By the end of the CPD course, participants who have engaged with the course should have acquired the skills to be able to produce a portfolio suitable for submission for FOM's DOccMed level qualification.

The portfolio required by FOM is in the form of two written reports. One report should be based on a visit to, and assessment of, a workplace, and one report should be based on a clinical case seen and examined by the candidate.

To help students prepare for the portfolio element of the FOM exam, our CPD course provides support via tutorials on ‘workplace risk assessment’ and ‘determining work-relatedness’ and also via the summative assessments for each unit.

Each of the two units is currently assessed by a brief assignment and a multiple choice question (MCQ) exam - two assignments and two exams in total, with a further two 'practice' exams that don’t contribute to your final grades.

The intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the assignments aim to support students in developing their understanding and application of workplace risk assessment and identification of work-related illness, while the ILOs of the MCQ exams address a broader understanding of occupational health, medicine and hygiene.

Support is also provided via a monitored discussion board where students can engage with the tutors and with their peers and benefit from the differing clinical backgrounds and experience contained within the group.

The portfolio discussion board provides a space where students can reflect on specific aspects of course material and identify possible gaps in their knowledge and get advice on how to apply problem-solving skills to workplace scenarios using knowledge gained from the other units.

It also encourages students to reflect on whether personal practice is consistent with good occupational medical practice and, finally, offers an opportunity for students taking the DOccMed to gain experience in addressing the types of questions that may arise in the portfolio oral assessment.

"Distance learning fits in well with my work."

"The course is well organised with excellent speakers. It offers good preparation for the FOM exam."

"This course will appeal to future intakes because of the rich references and the excellent manner in which it is organised."

"Thank you and the team for the support and high-quality teaching – I was able to pass the DOccMed exam without much additional work at all, and was very happy with the overall quality of the course."

CPD points and further progression
Although our CPD course does not result in an academic qualification from the University, students who attend the course are eligible for CPD points towards their revalidation.

Should you wish to continue on to our postgraduate course for a Master of Science (MSc) award, you will be required to successfully pass the summative assessments for the two 15-credit units.

Alternatively, you can provide evidence of successful completion of the FOM's DOccMed so that you can gain the 30 credits for these two units through Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

Please visit the MSc/PGDip/PGCert Occupational Medicine course page for further details of our postgraduate awards.