title: Agromedicine focus group: cooperative extension agents and medical school instructors plan farm field trips for medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current medical education policy seeks to address the health care needs of underserved populations, among whom are individuals associated with agriculture.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper describes a focus group approach to planning farm field trips whereby medical students accompany agricultural extension agents to study the personal, occupational, and environmental health concerns of farmers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The resulting plan joins a state's cooperative extension system, medical school, and farm community in partnership to provide an experiential approach to agricultural medicine and rural health education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The planning exercise and the field trips are successful examples of agromedicine, a partnership approach to preventive agricultural medicine involving professionals in medicine and in agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Rural Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine Tuscaloosa Program, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wheat
authors.forename: Tamela J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Lloyd
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Weatherly
authors.forename: Oscar S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Wiggins
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000193:education*; D000407:Alabama; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008297:Male; D016272:Occupational Health; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000592:standards*