The long term objectives of this program are to 1) increase the number of engineers who understand that they have a direct effect on the safety of workers who work with the equipment and work systems engineers design, and 2) increase the number of engineers who choose to go into applied or research positions in the area of occupational safety and health. Annually, five traineeships in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics are available in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering (ISE) at OSU. These provide educational opportunities to engineering students at the master's level who are interested in pursuing industrial, consulting, or academic careers in occupational safety and ergonomics or related areas. Plans of study typically require 4-5 semesters to complete. Students take courses in occupational biomechanics and ergonomics, cognitive engineering, occupational health, occupational safety, human error and systems failure or resilience engineering, and experimental design. Students are trained in responsible research practices and have opportunities to get involved in cutting edge research that addresses a number of original NORA Priority Research Areas, including Low Back Disorders, Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities, Traumatic Injuries, Emerging Technologies, Special Populations at Risk, Exposure Assessment Methods, and/or Intervention Effectiveness Research. Research projects, seminars, internships, a safety practicum, and other opportunities expose students to several NORA Sectors, including Healthcare, Manufacturing, Public Safety, Service workers, and Warehousing. Students learn from OSU faculty, experienced practitioners, and workers. Students learn about safety and ergonomics fundamentals and emerging trends and concepts, such as resilience, systems thinking, and wellness approaches to OSH. Laboratory facilities and equipment the students work with are state-of-the-art, including OSU's new Spine Research Institute. OSU's College of Engineering continues to improve and refine strategies for recruiting top-notch graduate students from groups that are underrepresented in engineering. The training program has actively participated in these strategies. The program has strong institutional support, as demonstrated by the provision of Tuition Awards for the trainees, which provide for full tuition support for up to two years per student. Advisory Board members bring experience from labor, industry, research, government, and education, and provide the program with important, relevant outside perspectives, as well as providing direct support to students through internships, safety practicum sponsorships, guest lectures in classes, and seminars. Program graduates become valuable employees because of the breadth of their training, sector exposure, and instructor exposure; some graduates opt to build upon that strong foundation of knowledge with further education and training at the doctoral level.
/Public Health Relevance The proposed training program is relevant to the public health because injuries that workers sustain on the job have important implications for their lives outside of work, including their financial situation (Foley et al. 2007), as well as implications for costs incurred by states, employers, and other entities (Dembe 2001, Weil 2001, Costich 2010). Workers who either permanently or temporarily cannot perform their occupational tasks may also not be able to perform tasks at home, including caregiving tasks for children or for a parent or other family member who requires support in order to remain living in a private setting, rather than an institution (Franche et al. 2006); extra burdens on family members may result in them developing musculoskeletal disorders and incurring associated healthcare costs (Asfaw et al. 2015). Engineers have the power to affect the health and safety of workers, but an appreciation of this requires special training and education, such as that provided through our Master's level Training Program in Safety & Ergonomics, in order to increase their ability to exert positive effects on worker safety and health; thus the relevance of this program to the public health.
