Table 7

Standardised rankings

Occupational hazards to health:
Section 1A, knowledge:
Hazards to health in the workplace and the illnesses which they cause	1.6
Evaluating and controlling risk from hazards	4.2
Principles of toxicology, occupational hygiene, and ergonomics	4.5
Clinical features and investigation of occupational disease	4.8
Sources of information in occupational health hazards	5.0
Principles of health surveillance	5.6
Occupational health standards	6.5
Biological monitoring	6.8
Principles of occupational safety	7.5
Emergency treatment of injury at work	7.6
Section 1B, experience:
Assess and advise on range of working environments	3.5
Surveillance of workers at risk of occupational injury and disease	3.6
Differential diagnosis of work related ill health	4.1
Liaison with other specialists on workplace assessment	4.3
Management of workers developing work related disease or injury	4.8
Use of basic occupational hygiene equipment	6.5
Experience in general clinical toxicology	6.9
Supervise health and safety training	7.1
Use of ILO classification of radiographs	8.5
Section 1C, competence:
Undertake workplace assessments and advise on control measures	3.2
Diagnose work related ill health	3.6
Take a clinical history and examination proficiently	3.7
Organise appropriate investigations for diagnosis of occupational disease	4.3
Recognise need for specialist assessment of environment	4.6
Organise health surveillance for workers exposed to occupational hazards	4.8
Advise on provision of first aid facilities	7.1
Select appropriate personal protective equipment	7.5
Advise on the use of equipment and the planning of working environment	7.5
Advise on the introduction of new working systems and techniques	7.7
Assessment of disability and fitness for work:
Section 2A, knowledge:
Principles of assessing fitness for work	2.8
Statutory requirements for fitness for specific jobs	3.9
Methods of rehabilitation and redeployment at work	4.6
Factors effecting absence attributed to sickness	5.1
Assessment of fitness for work of older workers	6.5
Application of the stress or strain concept to disabled employees	6.8
Principles of ill health retirement	7.1
Disablement benefits	7.7
Section 2B, experience:
Clinical assessment of disability and fitness for work, both preplacement and after work related illness or injury	2.7
Assessment of impairment, disability, and handicap in relation to work	3.1
Clinical management in rehabilitation of disabled workers	5.2
Application of ergonomics to rehabilitation	5.5
Counsel employees regarding sickness absence	6.3
Management of workers with alcohol or drug problems	6.5
Monitoring sickness absence	7.4
Supervise training	7.7
Section 2C, competence:
Advise on impairment, disability, and handicap in relation to work	4.1
Advise on fitness for work in liaison with other professionals where appropriate	4.2
Advise on rehabilitation and redeployment	5.5
Advise managers, insurers, and employers on ill health retirement	7.7
Advise on sickness absence	8.0
Communications:
Section 3A, knowledge:
Organisation of occupational health services and role of statutory authorities	3.2
Ethical guidelines for communications with doctors, managers, and others	5.1
Role and organisation of other occupational health professionals	5.6
Organisation of other health services	6.0
Principles, techniques, and resources in communication	6.3
Organisation of occupational health services in other European countries	8.2
Section 3B, experience:
Preparation of written reports	3.7
Communications with other professionals about management of people	4.4
Oral presentations with audiovisual aids	5.0
Teamwork	5.7
Counselling	6.7
Participation in committees	6.9
Negotiating, influencing, and conflict resolution	6.9
Section 3C, competence:
Communicate with people of differing backgrounds and technical understanding	4.2
Organise and write reports	5.2
Make clear oral presentations with use of audiovisual aids	5.4
Read, write, and converse proficiently	5.5
Apply legislative and ethical requirements for confidentiality in communicating with other professionals about people	6.0
Participate effectively as a member of a committee	8.3
Research methods:
Section 4A, knowledge:
Sources of scientific information	4.4
Principles of epidemiology and medical statistics	4.9
Ethical considerations in research	7.2
Principles of social and qualitative research	8.1
Section 4B, experience:
Conduct a formal scientific investigation	7.0
Carry out a literature search and prepare a report	7.8
Section 4C, competence:
Carry out a literature search	3.9
Convert a problem into a researchable question	4.0
Interpret scientific data in journals and from own research	4.6
Plan simple surveys	4.9
Recognise limits of competence and liase with statisticians or other experts when appropriate	5.3
Recognise and initiate the investigation of disease clusters in the work force	5.7
Report on an investigation orally and in writing	6.2
Carry out simple statistical manipulations to summarise data	6.4
Analyse routinely collected data including sickness absence and accident data	6.4
Use a computer for the storage and analysis of data	6.8
Management:
Section 5A, knowledge:
Principles and practice of management	2.7
Techniques for needs assessments and marketing of occupational health services	4.8
How to manage a budget	5.0
Industrial relations	5.1
Management structures in different organisations	6.1
Principles of audit	6.3
Analysis of organisational behaviour	7.0
Designing a training course	7.5
Section 5B, experience:
Personal responsibility for the management of a department or some aspect of a department of occupational health	3.2
Involvement with all elements of industrial organisation	3.7
Experience in at least two organisations or businesses with different structures and styles of management	4.9
Collection and use of information in the management of health and safety at work	5.1
Participation in audit	5.8
Managing a budget	6.0
Selection, appointment, supervision, and appraisal of staff	6.2
Involvement in providing training	7.0
Attendance at a management training course	7.3
Section 5C, competence:
Identify the occupational health needs of an organisation	2.2
Define the goals and objectives of an occupational health service	2.5
Define the roles of staff in providing an occupational health service and formulate job descriptions	3.8
Manage an occupational health department	3.8
Evaluate the quality of an occupational health service and carry out clinical audit	5.4
Negotiate and manage a budget	5.7
Team building and teamwork	6.1
Organise record keeping with computers if appropriate	6.5
Select, appoint, supervise and appraise staff performance	6.6
Market occupational health services	6.7
Negotiating and influencing skills	7.3
Design a training programme	7.4
Occupational health law and ethics:
Section 6A, knowledge:
Acts, regulations, codes of practice and guidance governing occupational health including the reporting of occupational injury and disease	2.6
The legislative framework of occupational health in the relevant country and European Community	3.0
The interaction between the law and ethics in occupational health practice	3.7
Industrial compensation systems	5.4
The roles of the medical, professional, and expert witness	5.7
Organisation of social and insurance services	6.2
Employment law	6.6
Social compensation legislation	6.7
Environmental health law	6.8
Procedures in litigation	7.3
Section 6B, experience:
Advising on, supporting, and monitoring the implementation of occupational health and safety legislation	4.2
Application of occupational health law and ethics to the individual case	4.6
Advising on, supporting, and monitoring the implementation of environmental law	7.8
Evaluation of compliance with new legislation	8.0
Section 6C, competence:
Advise managers of their legal obligations under health and safety law	4.9
Advise managers on the implementation of health and safety and environmental law	7.2
Advise workers and workers' representatives of their legal obligations	7.6
Environmental medicine:
Section 7A, knowledge:
Physical, chemical, and biological hazards to health arising from industrial activities	2.5
Methods for assessing and controlling environmental hazards	4.7
Sources of information on environmental epidemiology	5.9
Control of major industrial accidental hazards	6.5
Environmental sources of hazards to health other than industry	6.4
The role of other professional groups with an interest in environmental health	6.7
Principles of integrated pollution control	6.8
Section 7B, experience:
Advising on management of known and suspected environmental hazards to health	4.3
Liaison with other specialists responsible for environmental and community health	5.5
Involvement in the planning of building or processes with the potential to cause environmental hazards	7.1
Participation as a team member of emergency incident planning	7.9
Section 7C, competence:
Recognise and advise on hazardous exposure in the general environment arising from industrial activities	5.5
Differential diagnosis of work related and environmental related disease	6.4
Recognise and advise on hazardous exposure in the general environment arising from other sources or activities	8.1
Health promotion:
Section 8A, knowledge:
Principles of health promotion, education, and behavioural modification	3.3
Major health risks relevant to working populations	3.4
The workplace health promotion process	5.5
Health needs analysis of working populations	6.0
Ethical aspects of population screening	6.9
Cost-benefit analysis of health promotion activities	7.0
Health promotion agencies and sources of information	7.3
Section 8B, experience:
Participation in health promotion and education programmes	5.3
Experience with intervention techniques	7.1
Advocating workplace health promotion	7.3
Section 8C, competence:
Assess needs for health promotion	3.8
Organise, provide, and evaluate health promotion programmes	4.6
Development and implementation of prevention programmes	5.9
Achieve high participation in health promotion programmes	7.3
Audit or evaluation of existing programmes	7.9

Items in italics were not in the first questionnaire.