Licentiate of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (LFOM)

This course is open to all registered general practitioners who meet the following criteria:

• Candidates must hold a medical qualification acceptable to the ICGP and Faculty of Occupational Medicine, RCPI.
• Candidates must be registered and authorised to practice medicine by their appropriate national body
• GP Specialist Registrars may apply once they have written permission from their GP Training Scheme Director and they are training in a general practice which provides an occupational medicine service, i.e. they will have access to occupational medicine cases.

• Formal instruction in occupational medicine
• Enhanced capacity to identify work related illness
• Problem-solving skills required to manage occupational health problems
• Guidance on accepted standards of provision of occupational health services including legislation, ethics and communication
• An overview of the identification, prevention and management of occupational hazards, injuries and illnesses
• Advice on how to access further information in occupational medicine and encouragement to participate in relevant ongoing continuing medical education

Ultimately, the written assignments and other course material are designed with a view to prepare candidates to sit the LFOM examination run by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, RCPI.

In order to satisfactorily complete this course, participants will be required to submit the following written assignments:

LFOM Year 1

• 3 occupational medicine clinical cases
• 1 occupational injury clinical case

LFOM Year 2

• 1 worksite visit report
• 1 project. These may include policy documents on sharps injuries and exposure to bodily fluids, a pregnancy risk assessment, an ergonomic workstation assessment etc.

Ideally candidates should have access to occupational medicine cases themselves. Candidates will receive feedback from the Course Assessor on each piece of written work submitted. 

Course participants are also required to:

• Participate on the secure Discussion Board during year 1 and 2
• Complete MCQs where available after each unit. The MCQs are provided as self-assessment tools and scheduled throughout during year 1 and 2

NB: It is your responsibility to contact the RCPI to apply for the final examination.

The aim of this course is to help participants prepare to sit the Licentiate of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (LFOM), organised by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). 

Candidates who succeed the end-point examination will be awarded the Licentiate of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. For the MFOM (membership exam), once a candidate passes the LFOM exam and intends to sit the MFOM exam, the MCQ result may be carried forward to the MFOM written exam, exempting the candidate from sitting MCQ paper 1.

The RCPI have a dedicated examinations support team in their Dublin headquarters. They are there to guide you through your full exam journey, from application to conferring. They are present at every exam and always happy to answer your questions. If you would like to speak to someone about this exam, please contact Mr Iain Martel:

• Email: examinations@rcpi.ie
• Phone: +353 1 863 9723 
• Website: https://www.rcpi.ie/examinations/