What are the skills required to be a toxicologist?

Answer 1

Medical Toxicology is officially recognized as a medical subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) describes medical toxicology as a medical subspecialty focusing on the diagnosis, management and prevention of poisoning and other adverse health effects due to medications, occupational and environmental toxins, and biological agents. Examples of exposures commonly evaluated and managed by Medical Toxicologist include drug overdoses, either intentional or unintentional, of therapeutic pharmaceutical drugs or drugs of abuse, envenomations, ingestions of food borne or plant and mushroom toxins, hazardous exposures to chemical products, particularly those in industry, either acutely or chronically such as pesticides, heavy metals, toxic gases, and toxic alcohols and solvents. In addition Medical Toxicology training provides expertise in drug abuse management particularly drug withdrawal as well as skills used to assess injury and disability resulting from a wide variety of potentially toxic exposures. This diverse and broad training prepares physicians who are board certified in Medical Toxicology to practice in a variety of professional settings. The most common practice is to provide direct treatment and consultation of acutely poisoned patients in an emergency department or intensive care setting. This is often based in a teaching hospital practice integrating patient care with teaching, administrative and research opportunities. However vast arrays of other opportunities are available as well including poison control center management where one can provide 24 hour consultation services to health care providers and the general public as well as integration into the public health network for the community particularly for mass casualty exposures or unusual clusters of potential toxin related illness. Industry and commerce has numerous opportunities for Medical Toxicology including in drug discovery and pharmaceutical research, product safety, and regulatory drafting. There are opportunities in various agencies particularly those focused on public safety and regulation such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety Health Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as nongovernmental advocacy and industrial groups

Answer 2

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