About WOEMA

Our Mission: The mission of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association (WOEMA), and of the Western Occupational Health Conference (WOHC), is to equitably promote and protect the health, safety, and well-being of all individuals at work and in their environment through education, engagement, leadership and advocacy. WOEMA advocates for health equity through justice, diversity and inclusion.

The Benefits of Membership

The American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine and its component society, the Western Occupational & Environmental Medicine Association, are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of care in occupational and environmental medicine through Education, Service and Leadership. Your membership will enhance the stature and recognition of the specialty and strengthen the voice of OEM in health policy debates while promoting new levels of competency in the prevention and treatment of illness, injury, and disability in the work environment and community.

ACOEM/WOEMA members enjoy numerous practical benefits:

  • MAINTAINING CERTIFICATION
  • PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS
  • CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
  • PRESTIGE
  • PROFESSIONAL DISCOUNTS
  • ACTION FOR CHANGE
  • FUN!
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Black History Month 2023

This month, the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee invites you to join WOEMA as we celebrate Black History Month, an annual commemoration of achievements by African Americans and a time to recognize their central role in US history.

In the United States, the population of Black or African American alone or in combination is over 49 million. And 33.7% of employed Black population age 16 and older works in management, business, science and arts occupations in 2021.

The 2023 theme for Black History month “Inspiring Change,” celebrates the contributions of African Americans to overcoming racial inequities and promoting opportunities for equal advancement within the Black community.

                “ History, Despite it’s wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but faced with courage, need not be lived again”- Maya Angelou

  

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WOEMA Podcasts

For more details about each podcast, select the podcast title so it appears at the top of the player. Place your cursor anywhere in the podcast box and you will see an info button appear towards the right. Click on the button for speaker bio, related links, and a description (where applicable). Don't miss an episode! Be sure to subscribe to the WOEMA Podcast Series Channel.

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WOEMA Podcasts

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Heart of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Stephanie Stephens
Originally Published on Health eCAREERS
December 08, 2022 • 8 min read

Across the healthcare industry, an acknowledged overdue emphasis has been placed on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

From the origin of this specialty, occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) has championed diverse and underrepresented (URM) workers’ illnesses and injuries, says Robert Goldberg, MD, FACOEM, of San Francisco.

“Immigrants have often done the most dangerous work, with the highest exposures, going back 130 years,” says Goldberg. “Other medical specialties are in some ways disparate newcomers to this, but we have always recognized that people of diverse backgrounds don’t appear in clinical studies as often and have poorer outcomes when they respond differently to treatments, medications, and the lack of diversity within the ranks of physicians in general.”

Goldberg, an occupational medicine specialist and consultant, is past president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) as well as of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association (WOEMA), where he’s a member of the Justice, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. The organization’s member states are California, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah, and Arizona.
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