Why Dr. Sharef Danho chose Occupational Medicine at U of T

Occupational Medicine is a medical discipline that emphasizes prevention and deals clinically and administratively with the health needs of both individuals and groups with respect to their working environments. This includes the recognition, evaluation, control, management and rehabilitation of occupationally related diseases and injuries.

We asked our PGY-5 resident, Dr. Sharef Danho, why he chose to study Occupational Medicine at U of T. Here’s what he had to say:

Why did you choose to specialize in Occupational Medicine?

My mother is a chemical engineer and my father worked on oil rigs. Workplace injuries were common in their fields, and through the lived experiences of my parents, I recognized the important relationship between work and health from a young age.

During medical school, I became involved with the Space Medicine Interest Group because of my passion for astronomy and interest in advancing human space exploration. Here, I would meet and eventually work with an Occupational Medicine specialist on a project regarding space radiation exposure in astronauts. Beyond learning about the effects of radiation, this experience introduced me to the field of Occupational Medicine.

I became interested in learning about the unique approach to quantifying the risks of various occupational exposures, while also thinking about the organization of workplaces to optimize health – even if the ‘workplace’ was a space shuttle orbiting Earth! Through Occupational Medicine, I felt that I would be using my medical knowledge to think about disease and disease prevention in a unique way that I never thought possible.

I did my residency in Internal Medicine, and one of the most difficult aspects was seeing patients suffer from chronic conditions and feeling helpless in addressing the upstream factors contributing to their disease. Occupational Medicine appealed to my desire to practice comprehensive medicine while also being able to focus on disease prevention.

Why did you want to complete your medical training at U of T?

All of the Occupational Medicine training programs in Canada are excellent. Each of them have wonderful and extremely passionate teachers, and I knew I would be able to achieve my goals at any of the training programs. U of T appealed to me because of the concurrent Master’s program in Occupational Health Care in the PGY-4 year done at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. I also felt that Toronto had a wide variety of industries that would guarantee an amazing breadth of exposure for me during my training. Additionally, I’m from Toronto!

What interesting or exciting things have you experienced during your residency?

We rotate through a number of different clinics including occupational dermatitis and occupational asthma clinics with very interesting cases. Another unique clinic we work in is the Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) Clinic. The predominant patient group we follow is miners, most from Northern Ontario, who after thousands of hours of heavy vibration exposure through mining, can develop various musculoskeletal, vascular and neurological symptoms. They can present with Raynaud’s Syndrome in their hands, which is quite striking to see. This clinic reminds me of the unique position we are in to advocate for workers and it is an incredible feeling to be able to help. We also receive a lot of referrals regarding elevated heavy metals in the blood like mercury, lead, cobalt, aluminum and others. It is fascinating to work through these cases to find the source of exposure and provide patients with practical advice.