Who Are We?

The Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) is a project created by a group of health professionals, many of whom participated in a similar and highly successful internship program soon after OSHA was created in the 1970s. Summer 2012 will be the nineth year of our program.

OHIP is a national program housed within the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), with training centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City and Boston (new sites may be announced). In future years, we hope to expand the program to other locations throughout the nation, using the network of NIOSH Educational Resource Centers and Training Centers.

Our Advisory Board represents academic disciplines and constituency groups from across the nation. The program is partially funded through an agreement with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

OHIP was inspired by the work of Tony Mazzocchi, a former leader in the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW). Tony recruited students to learn about the realities of work and health in America by spending a summer with workers in a local union. He worked with the Montefiore Medical Center 's Department of Social Medicine in New York to develop a union-based summer intern program beginning in the mid 1970s. Many of the leaders in occupational health today started their careers with an internship with OCAW or another union through the Montefiore program. Several former interns have been involved in creating the new OHIP program. Click Former Interns to learn more.