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Biomedical subjects

Alan Ducatman

Publications and source records attributed to Alan Ducatman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Training pathways for occupational medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Consider the funding, organization, and applicant pool for occupational medicine residency training positions concerns in the United States. METHODS: Postgraduate training models are compared for responsiveness to competence and workforce needs, including traditional residency, nontraditional residency, postdoctoral fellowship, extended courses, multiple certificate preparation, continuing medical education, "executive MPH," and implicit education (learning from consultants in the course of practice). RESULTS: Educational models differ in comprehensiveness, crossdisciplinary experience, socialization to core professional values, financial requirements, accessibility to physicians currently in practice, potential number of trainees, and short- and long-term impact on training outcomes. CONCLUSION: There are tradeoffs between the benefits of comprehensive program standards and the benefit of facilitated training access by reducing barriers or requirements. Recognizing and understanding assumptions about training in our discipline may inform future choices.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed2004

Industrial solvents and psychological effects.

Organic solvents are widely used in industries for cleaning, degreasing, and other processes. The high dose neurotoxicity of occupational solvents is evident, and the existence of residual effects following lower dose exposure remains a focus of interest 30 years after initial reports of behavioral changes in painters from the Scandinavian literature. This article reviews recent studies on occupational solvent exposure and neuropsychological outcomes. The methodologic difficulties facing studies and the role of neuroimaging in solvent neurotoxicity investigations are examined. Existing studies consistently demonstrate association between exposure and neurobehavioral outcomes, but the specificity of the findings is less impressive. Threshold levels are uncertain. A safe and achievable threshold level seems possible from the current literature; unfortunately, such exposure limits have not yet been established by current studies. Several frequently encountered chemicals are discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Respiratory protection: associated factors and effectiveness of respirator use among underground coal miners.

BACKGROUND: We investigated factors associated with the use of respiratory protection and explored the effectiveness of respirators among coal miners. METHODS: Between 1987 and 1992, respiratory symptoms, smoking, lung function, and dust exposures were assessed longitudinally among 185 underground bituminous coal miners. Self-reported use of respiratory protection was expressed as mean percent time wearing a respirator. RESULTS: Miners' respirator use increased with mean dust concentration, but decreased with tobacco consumption. Increasing age was associated with greater respirator use. Miners who had respiratory symptoms at the initial survey subsequently reported greater use of respirators. A significant protective association was found between the miners' respirator use and FEV(1) levels at both the initial and follow-up surveys. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide additional evidence that respirator use is protective of lung health. When respiratory protection programs are developed, factors that may affect respirator use behavior, such as age, smoking, and respiratory symptoms, should be considered. Future studies of respiratory health will need to consider workers' use of respiratory protection.

Adult↗