Specialist competencies in occupational medicine: appraisal of the peer-reviewed literature.

BACKGROUND A re-assessment of competencies and therefore learning outcomes for higher specialist training in occupational medicine (OM) is being undertaken. Although peer-reviewed literature on the subject exists, it is limited and needs appraisal. AIMS To search, and critically appraise the peer-reviewed literature on specialist competencies in OM. METHODS Systematic search of a range of databases of peer-reviewed literature, followed by criterion based appraisal and categorization of the findings. RESULTS Two hundred and thirty five papers were found of which only 20 were left after application of the grading and exclusion criteria. These addressed competencies from four perspectives: peer consensus, client, educational and legal. CONCLUSIONS Limited evidence can be obtained from the peer-reviewed literature on specialist competencies in OM. However, it suggests the main paradigms for deriving these competencies as well as indicating gaps and the manner in which these might be filled.