Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners

How to become a Preventive Medicine Physician

Official title: Preventive Medicine Physicians

Also called: Occupational Medicine Physician, Occupational Physician, Physician, Preventive Medicine Physician, Primary Clinician, Public Health Officer, Public Health Physician

Apply knowledge of general preventive medicine and public health issues to promote health care to groups or individuals, and aid in the prevention or reduction of risk of disease, injury, disability, or death. May practice population-based medicine or diagnose and treat patients in the context of clinical health promotion and disease prevention.

Main tasks

Direct or manage prevention programs in specialty areas such as aerospace, occupational, infectious disease, and environmental medicine.
Document or review comprehensive patients' histories with an emphasis on occupation or environmental risks.
Identify groups at risk for specific preventable diseases or injuries.
Perform epidemiological investigations of acute and chronic diseases.
Supervise or coordinate the work of physicians, nurses, statisticians, or other professional staff members.
Design or use surveillance tools, such as screening, lab reports, and vital records, to identify health risks.
Direct public health education programs dealing with topics such as preventable diseases, injuries, nutrition, food service sanitation, water supply safety, sewage and waste disposal, insect control, and immunizations.
Evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed risk reduction measures or other interventions.

How to become one

Physicians and surgeons typically need a bachelor's degree as well as a medical degree, which takes an additional 4 years to complete. Depending on their specialty, they also need 3 to 9 years in internship and residency programs. Subspecialization includes additional training in a fellowship of 1 to 3 years.

Typical education to start: Doctoral or professional degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

College: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 23 universities in the US
Licence: A licence is required in 47 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $265,930 a year The middle half earn $102,930 to $378,770.
About 367,400 people work in this job now, and about 380,100 are projected by 2035. (+3.4%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Preventive Medicine Physician?

How much does a Preventive Medicine Physician earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $265,930 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $102,930 to $378,770.

Is a Preventive Medicine Physician a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 3% by 2035, from about 367,400 to about 380,100 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Preventive Medicine Physician?

Usually. 100% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Preventive Medicine Physician?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.