
Program Director
Welcome to the HealthPartners Occupational Medicine (OM) Residency website. Our program has a distinguished history in the field of occupational, environmental, and preventive medicine. Since 1977 we have graduated 90 residents, many of whom have followed illustrious careers in academics, industry, and clinical practice. We are accredited through the HealthPartners Institute and are currently certified by ACGME until 2023. Our funding derives from an innovative partnership between HealthPartners Medical Group and the University of Minnesota’s NIOSH grant funding. Our academic partnership with the University of Minnesota- School of Public Health provides a robust scholarly experience for residents and staff. The Midwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety (MCOHS) is one of the nation’s 18 Educational Resource Centers (ERC). Residents complete an MPH during the PGY2 year and complete their master’s capstone projects (APEX – Applied practice experience and ILE – Integrated learning experience) during the PGY3 year.
We seek residents with a broad vision of the role of the caregiver in America and the international medical arena. We embrace the Triple Aim mission of working to improve the health of the population, enhance the experience and outcomes of the patient, and reduce the cost of care for the benefit of our community. Many of our residents come to Occupational Medicine from other subspecialties after recognizing a desire to have a greater influence in primary prevention and population health. The opportunity to work in corporate, government, academic and clinical practice as a medical executive and healthcare innovator allows our physicians to influence the direction of modern medical practice. Our mission is to provide our residents with a superb educational and clinical experience that prepares them to be thought leaders, physician educators, and medical directors in the fields of occupational, environmental, and preventive medicine. Physicians in OM rank near the top of all medical specialties in terms of job satisfaction and lifestyle management.
Currently, our faculty members are board certified in Occupational Medicine with two double boarded in General Preventive Medicine as well. Additionally, we have one physician board certified in Clinical Informatics. We are authorized for up to eight residents although under our current funding we have a total of five residents with three in the PGY2 year and two in the PGY3 year. Our residents systematically complete board review training throughout their two-year residency experience with an eye toward the board certification examination following graduation. Our board pass rates are excellent (near 100% in the past five years) and exceed requirements. The current job market is vigorous with greater demand for Occupational Medicine physicians than there are available graduates.
Our clinical core faculty has varied and diverse backgrounds in terms of clinical expertise and work experience. Members of our faculty have served as team physicians for national sports teams, as base physicians in Antarctica, researchers in South America, child labor research in Asia, as well as in mission hospitals in Botswana, Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea, and Nepal. One faculty is a national expert in Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and many have served as corporate medical directors.
The Twin Cities is a vibrant community in which to live and train. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul provide a superb quality of life with major league sports, world-class theater & arts, and the cultural amenities of one of the premier metropolitan communities in the United States. Our parks and green spaces are rated the best in the country and there is easy access to recreational facilities of all types. The international airport provides direct flights to most national and many international destinations. We have four seasons which allow the outdoors enthusiast the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of physical activities. These include running, biking, snowmobiling, hunting, dog sledding, skating, Nordic & alpine skiing, windsurfing, swimming, fishing, kayaking, and canoeing. We are truly the “land of 10,000 lakes”.
We welcome your inquiries and invite you to consider our HealthPartners Occupational Medicine Residency Program.
Sincerely,
Affiliate Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Research Investigator, HealthPartners Institute
HealthPartners West End Clinic, 1665 Utica Ave. S., Ste. 100, St. Louis Park, MN 55416
zeke.j.mckinney@healthpartners.com