By Francheska Griño
On the last episode of the Biology Program Council (BioPC)’s three-part podcast titled “All of Us are Med,” Dr. Nathalie Ordoñez, an occupational health physician, explained that occupational medicine does not limit solely to being a company doctor.
Ordoñez said they do not only prescribe, request tests, or refer patients to specialists for co-management or hospital admissions, but they are also after their safety.
“Occupational health physicians investigate. We actually go into the particular area where they might have acquired the injury or the illness,” she added, helping them establish a proper action plan.
The doctor also pointed out that occupational medicine includes engineering as they are involved in a company’s fire safety, electrical safety, and disaster response.
“We also work hand in hand with the HR (Human Resources), administration people, the engineering, the pollution control officers, and safety officers of the company,” she added.
Furthermore, most occupational health physicians are either family physicians or general practitioners, making it a multi-specialty, according to Dr. Ordoñez.
To know more about Dr. Ordoñez and her journey post-medicine, watch the full episode of the “All of Us are Med” Episode 3 linked below:
