Fragmentation to Integration: Working Towards a Competency-Based Model for Lifestyle and Preventive Medicine Education

Abstract

Lifestyle medicine offers evidence-based strategies to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic disease. • Most medical schools currently provide limited and Lifestyle medicine offers evidence-based strategies to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic disease. Most medical schools currently provide limited and fragmented instruction on the core pillars of Lifestyle Medicine (LM), includint nutrition. The poster describes the efforts of a Working Group of faculty from 6 different academic departments and a hospital based Lifestyle medicine clinic. Lessons learned to date include: structured mapping is critical, integration must be intentional and goal-driven, early faculty engagement supports rapid implementation, linking educational strategies to national competencies supports standardization and helps define measurable outcomes;collaborative partnerships—both interprofessional and community‑based—enhance the authenticity of skill development and reinforce the importance of prevention within clinical practice.