Events

A FOM-approved course in preparation for the FOM Diploma in Occupational Health Practice Examination (DipOHPrac). 

The course covers:

- Introduction to Occupational Health
- Effects of work on health
- Clinical Occupational Health and Management 
- Assessment of Actual Workplace Scenarios

Course Leaders: Dr Lanre Ogunyemi, Dr Alan Bray and Dr Steven Sadhra

Course Dates: Monday 5th January - Friday 9th January and Monday 26th January - Friday 30th January 2026 (Virtual – Online)

Price: £3,480 including VAT

Click here to view more information and register your interest.

FREE for ALL (please log in on the SOM website first). 

Summary 

The new Leadership Competencies for Occupational Health have been launched to accelerate OH leadership in the UK and beyond. The Leadership Competencies were developed drawing on research and extensive consultation with the SOM leadership community. This session aims to provide occupational health (OH) professionals, and those responsible for recruiting and training them, with an introduction to the framework, its development and implications for future use.
 
In this session we will cover:
•    why this framework was needed
•    the development of the framework
•    the competencies relevant to OH leadership
•    how the competencies can be used to inform recruitment and personal development
•    developing an action plan to develop your own leadership competencies to propel your own professional practice and influence others to advance occupational health

BIOs:

Professor Jo Yarker, Managing Partner at Affinity Health at Work and Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London.
 
Jo is a Registered and Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Managing Partner at Affinity Health at Work, Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London and Co-Director of the London Centre for Work and Health. Her work focuses on supporting healthy, sustainable work for all, particularly how we design work, lead teams, and support people during periods of challenge or change. Jo has led research for the Medical Protection Society, Acas, the World Health Organization, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and currently leads Project OSCAR (Occupational Stress Consultation and Research) funded by the Health at Safety Executive. She works closely with organisations, policy makers, and professional bodies to translate research into practical solutions.
 
Nathan Palmer, Senior Consultant at Affinity Health at Work.
 
Nathan is a Registered Occupational Psychologist and works as a Senior Consultant at Affinity Health at Work and supports a range of client and research projects – bringing together existing evidence and expert opinion to create new tools and more in-depth understanding of workplace wellbeing challenges. Having worked in leadership positions in major national charities, with experience in designing and delivering training programmes at scale, he is passionate about learning and development, supporting people to thrive at work and enabling individuals and teams to be successful. Nathan is also currently working towards a professional doctorate in Occupational Psychology. His specialist areas of interest include Inclusion, Effective Management Practices, and Supportive Teams.

Dr Lanre Ogunyemi, Chair, SOM Leadership Academy

Dr Lanre Ogunyemi is a Consultant in Occupational Medicine, Immediate Past President of the UK Society of Occupational Medicine, and Founding Chair of its Leadership Academy, established to develop future leaders and strengthen leadership across the occupational health workforce. He serves as Academic Registrar (Chief Examiner) at the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and sits on the Board of Directors of the UK Council for Work & Health. As Medical Director at Trinity Occupational & Public Health Solutions Ltd (TOPHS), he oversees services across diverse sectors and leads the delivery of Faculty-accredited training for the Diploma in Occupational Medicine and the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice. A passionate advocate for education, leadership, and workforce development, Dr Ogunyemi plays an active role in advancing professional standards and enhancing leadership capability within the specialty.

 Dr Natalie Green, Senior Medical Director at Health Partners Group.
 
Dr Natalie Green is Senior Medical Director at Health Partners Group and a Consultant Occupational Physician with extensive experience across public and private sectors. She leads a multidisciplinary clinical team delivering occupational health services to a wide range of commercial clients. Natalie is a compassionate and inclusive leader, committed to helping individuals thrive and encouraging leadership at all levels. She believes that everyone has the potential to lead, regardless of role or seniority, and is passionate about creating environments where people can grow and succeed. She is a member of the SOM Leadership Academy Executive Committee, supporting the development of current and future leaders in occupational health, and serves on the FOM Ethics Committee. Her works as part of the EOPH education faculty contributes to the education and development of the next generation of occupational health physicians. 

FREE for ALL. You will then be sent the joining link.

FREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website first). 

Summary 

There is an emerging picture of overlap e.g. autism, ADHD and health issues such as chronic fatigue, brain-fog, concentration, anxiety difficulties. Overlapping symptoms can confuse psychological with physiological causes. Neurodivergent people, who are more likely to have hypermobility, connective tissue and autoimmune conditions, have also been disproportionately impacted by long COVID, which can exacerbate or bring on these symptoms. 

The rise in neurodiversity cases since the pandemic is in part due to increased awareness, but also because psychiatric symptoms have worsened due to this overlap. Very little is known about these emerging co-occurrences but preliminary evidence suggests that we can get people back to work and improve their capacity with a range of simple treatments, escalating to more complex interventions such as rTMS for the most severely affected. 

Given the absence crisis, identification of cases in Occupational Health and correct referral to treatment could be transformational. Follow this link for an introductory paper on the overlap between neurodiversity and inflammatory conditions, and how these affect cognition and functioning: Prevalence and treatment response of neuropsychiatric disorders in mast cell activation syndrome - ScienceDirect

Chair: Dr Nancy Doyle C. Psychol.

Nancy Doyle holds a visiting Professorship at Birkbeck and is a Registered Occupational Psychologist. She founded Genius Within, a neurodiversity at work specialist consultancy business which sees thousands of referrals each year. Nancy has reached out to the medical profession to try to understand why, after 25 years in practice, she is suddenly seeing not just a rise in cases, but an increase in severity of concentration and fatigue within her client group.
Nancy will be joined by Dr Stephanie Barrett, an award winning, highly trained and widely experienced consultant rheumatologist and general physician and an industry leader in the field of rheumatology, osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis.

She is an expert in Fibromyalgia, hypermobility and Post-Covid fatigue. Dr Barrett is at the forefront of new technologies and treatments for conditions such as Fibromyalgia, chronic pain and post-Covid fatigue. She is a specialist in rTMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).
Formerly a lead consultant of rheumatology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, she is currently the Medical Director of the Chelsea Rheumatology Clinic and founder of The Brainwave Clinic in Harley Street, working with like minded rheumatology colleagues. She is included in all the published Tatler’s 250 top doctors guides.

FREE for ALL. You will then be sent the joining link.

FOR SOM MEMBERS ONLY

Lunaz is an electric vehicle company which restores and remasters luxury British cars including, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Jaguar.

SOM has arranged an exclusive tour of the Lunaz factory on Monday 2nd March 2026 commencing at 2PM.

Spaces are free to SOM members but limited to the first 24 individuals to book on.

Lunaz has an onsite Health & Safety employee. Details of whether photography will be allowed tbc.

You can find out more online here https://bylunaz.com/

SOM Members ONLY. If you are not a member, please join here https://www.som.org.uk/membership