Integrating lifestyle medicine and preventive medicine into undergraduate medical education (UME) has a critical impact aiding the quality of life for patients with chronic diseases and preparing aspiring physicians to meet the future needs of their patient populations. The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) promotes this integration through a strategic project that is supported by our members and partner organizations to inspire institutions to focus on these competencies.
ACPM has developed a strategic roadmap for the implementation of lifestyle medicine and preventive medicine into UME programming across American medical schools and other undergraduate medical education programs.
This critical need for integrating these practices into foundational medical education arises from a lack of skills and knowledge among the physician workforce to effectively counsel patients on lifestyle-related influences of health, such as:
Improvements in each of these lifestyle factors can produce positive health outcomes.
Training in lifestyle and preventive medicine competencies can provide current and future physicians with the knowledge and skills to better meet social and population health needs. Even though research exists to support the benefits of training physicians in lifestyle medicine and preventive medicine interventions, there is insufficient medical education, structure, incentives, and support to enable these medical professionals to effectively address lifestyle-related determinants of health in clinical settings.
The outputs from this project include a whitepaper with detailed findings from the study, a literature review and gap analysis, and an infographic showing actionable steps to accelerate the integration of LM and PM content into UME.
Download our project resources:
ACPM is proud to partner with leading medical and professional organizations to continue the advancement of preventive medicine and lifestyle medicine education for physicians.
Our partners include:
ACPM is proud to provide high quality educational opportunities and interactive events for our members. Join us and consider contributing to our cause to improve communities through preventive medicine! For questions or assistance with any program or event, contact us at info@acpm.org or give us a call at (202) 466-2044.