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In the Beginning - Society of Medicine (SOM)
The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) was formed in 1966. Dr Phoon Wai On was the President and Secretary of the Society with a membership of 120.
Please click here for SOM’s historical milestones and activities.
The Presidents of SOM
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1966 – 1985
Prof Phoon Wai On
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1985 – 1997
Prof Phoon Wai Hoong
| 1998 – 2000
Prof David Koh Soo Quee
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The face of occupational medicine has been transforming over the years. The days of overt occupational diseases caused by unknown harmful occupational exposures in uncontrolled working environments should be behind us.
Doctors, who practised clinical occupational medicine - treating overt lead poisoning, diagnosing asbestosis, are now able to move forward to different niches as such diseases decline in number. This was not due to sheer luck. History will remember the pioneering efforts of doctors who opted out of mainstream, orthodox medical practice, to tread into the more unusual realm of occupational medicine.
These are the doctors who inspected workplaces. Armed with carrot and stick they goaded employers and employees into adopting good and sound occupational health practice. These are the doctors who contribute and participate in forums together with industrial hygienists, safety officers and workplace managers to manage, protect and promote workers’ health at work.
In 2000, the Society of Medicine registered into the Occupational Health and Environmental Society.
The face of occupational medicine has been transforming over the years. The days of overt occupational diseases caused by unknown harmful occupational exposures in uncontrolled working environments should be behind us.
Doctors, who practised clinical occupational medicine - treating overt lead poisoning, diagnosing asbestosis, are now able to move forward to different niches as such diseases decline in number. This was not due to sheer luck. History will remember the pioneering efforts of doctors who opted out of mainstream, orthodox medical practice, to tread into the more unusual realm of occupational medicine.
These are the doctors who inspected workplaces. Armed with carrot and stick they goaded employers and employees into adopting good and sound occupational health practice. These are the doctors who contribute and participate in forums together with industrial hygienists, safety officers and workplace managers to manage, protect and promote workers’ health at work.
In 2000, the Society of Medicine registered into the Occupational Health and Environmental Society.
Occupational Health and Environmental Society
The term occupational medicine is increasingly substituted by the term occupational health. This change comes about because of two main reasons. Firstly, the term occupational health reflects a more proactive and holistic stance. The goal is to attain physical, mental and social well being at work, and not merely the absence of illness or infirmity.
Secondly, concerted effort of experts outside the medical profession are required to achieve these goals. As technologies become more complex, new and unknown hazards are introduced into the workplace. The expertise of hygienists, safety officers and operations officers are crucial to the understanding and implementation of safe and healthy measures for everyone at work. Similarly, businesses tackling with health care costs will need not just occupational physicians to advise them on priorities and effectiveness, but also the expertise of other managers in compensation, human resource, insurance and risk assessment.
If the society whose initiatives are largely confined to occupational physicians stays in its present form then it would be denying the complementary roles and putative contributions of other experts in this field . The way to rectify this is to open up and work with other professionals in the fields of occupational nursing, safety, hygiene and environmental health to advance the cause of occupational health.
Dr Gregory Chan is the current president of OEHS. Office bearers of the 2008/2010 Eecutive Commttee can be found here.
Immediate past president of OEHS is Dr Lee Lay Tin.
Activities of the OEHS can be found at
News & Events.
Logo of OEHS
A new OEHS logo is also instituted to herald the society into a new and exciting era in this Millennium. With the participation of our non-medical colleagues from the various allied fields, we will have a bigger and more diverse pool of talents and resources to disseminate, exchange and promote occupational health.
For more details of the logo, please click here
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