Michele Kowalski-McGraw, MD MPH, FACOEM
Associate Physician Diplomate
Dept Wellness Director Community Care, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, UC San Diego Health
Dr. Michele Kowalski-McGraw has extensive experience in Occupational Medicine in multiple health systems and is dually certified in Family Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Through her practice in occupational medicine, she studies how environmental factors shape health and customizes solutions to promote wellness. As Lead Physician in Occupational Medicine in the Community Care Dept., she is working to bridge Occupational Medicine and Primary Care. Her most recent project is development of CDC’s Occupational Date for Health, which will facilitate communication about work between patients and their providers to be used for improved individual patient care and population health. She is also a recent graduate of the UCSD Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship and a Departmental Wellness Director.
Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Kowalski-McGraw was the system medical director of Occupational Medicine/Employee Health at Geisinger Health. She was also associate medical director of Occupational Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health and adjunct professor, Department of Clinical Sciences at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, where her focus was on teaching primary care communication skills to students.
Dr. Kowalski-McGraw completed her residency in occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and in family medicine at UM Prince Georges Hospital Center. She earned her medical degree from Temple University and a master’s degree in public health from the University Of Massachusetts Amherst.
She is a fellow and active member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and has spoken on topics such as health informatics, fitness for duty with respect to use of opioid and benzodiazepine medication use, prevention of blood borne pathogen exposure, and stress management. She serves on the executive team of the ACOEM Council on External Relations and Communications. She pursues her passion for prevention through research, program development and education to patients, students, coworkers and friends.