This episode we heard from Dr. Itumeleng Ntatamala, an Occupational Medicine Specialist and Senior Lecturer in the Occupational Medicine Division in the School of Public Health at University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
We talked about:
Dr. Itumeleng’s background and his current roles
What drew him to medicine, public health and then occupational health
How his interests in clinical care influenced his interest to do public health work
Defining occupational health and occupation medicine and how they sit under public health
The aim of occupational health
What occupational health looks like and the different types of workers and professionals who work in it
Examples of the types of work dealt with in occupational health
How he splits his time between clinical work, public health work, research and teaching
The wide range of patients and medical issues that they see and the different work industries they work with in occupational medicine
Where Dr. Itumeleng finds the most joy and fulfillment in his work
The need for more people to be interested and work in Occupational health, in South Africa and beyond
COVID and its impact on occupational health
Different types of trainings that people can undergo to gain skills in and pivot to start working in occupational health
Why there is not as many people going into the field and being aware that the field of occupational health exists as a career path in public health
Challenges in limited opportunities for training in South Africa and in the region
How he defines public health and what public health means to him
Advice for anyone looking to go into medicine and/or public health
Following your passion and taking it one step at a time
Advice for those that might be interested specifically in pivoting into occupational health
Skills that he has found the most useful
Attending short courses in what you are interested
Reading more about occupational health eg :International Labor Organization ILO https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
Health & Safety Executive(HSE) https://www.hse.gov.uk/
National Institute of Occupational Health SA (NIOH) https://www.nioh.ac.za/#
and local National Occupational health bodies
Areas that connect to occupational health eg psychology or social work or physiotherapy
Can reach out about programs to him on Linked in or via email at for questions about the field and programs
