This proposal is for an EOM curriculum development project which will be implemented at the University of Alabama under the direction of Dr. John Wheat, who is based at the Tuscaloosa branch campus of the University of Alabama School of Medicine. The pilot group for EOM curriculum implementation is the recently established Rural Medicine Scholars Program, a longitudinal rural medicine track to prepare students from rural areas for the special demands of rural primary care. Dr. Wheat is the director of this program, which is based at the Tuscaloosa branch campus. Ten medical students entering in 1997 will initiate the program.
Specific aims of the proposal are to: 1) develop a high quality EOM curriculum responsive to Alabama's environmental and occupational medicine needs for medical students, primary care residents, and fellows; 2) enhance and maintain faculty expertise in teaching and research in EOM, especially concerning Alabama; 3) organize a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary EOM Curriculum Advisory Committee to monitor and prioritize Alabama EOM concerns, particularly among underserved populations; 4) develop an EOM research unit to collect and assemble data for the Advisory Committee to complete special studies in response to community needs and faculty interests and to evaluate program effectiveness; 5) produce individual EOM case studies for problem-based learning and for field trips that focus on Alabama EOM concerns; and 6) evaluate the curriculum by assessing knowledge, attitudes and intentions relative to Alabama's EOM needs.
Wheat, John R; Turner, Tamela J; Weatherly, Lloyd et al. (2003) Agromedicine focus group: cooperative extension agents and medical school instructors plan farm field trips for medical students. South Med J 96:27-31 |