Loma Linda University School of Medicine (LLUSM) has been recognized by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) as one of the first two medical schools to earn the highest recognition of a “Platinum Plus” certification designation for the significant level of undergraduate lifestyle medicine curricula within their programs.
The Platinum Plus is the highest tier of certification that a medical school can receive from ACLM and indicates the incorporation of at least 100 hours of evidence-based lifestyle medicine content within the 4-year curriculum for all medical students. Additionally, LLUSM offers a Lifestyle Medicine Certificate Track for students who desire advanced knowledge and skills in lifestyle medicine.
Sylvia Cramer, DrPH, DipACLM, FACLM and Kelsey Cherepuschak, MD, MPH who are the co-thread directors for the Lifestyle and Preventive Medicine thread at Loma Linda University School of Medicine are excited to accept the ACLM lifestyle medicine Platinum Plus certification and are grateful to be one of the first two medical schools certified at the highest level, along with colleagues from the University of South Carolina Greenville. The co-thread directors believe that the increased amount of lifestyle medicine education that students receive will not only benefit the students’ future patients but will also be beneficial as they apply lifestyle medicine principles in their own lives, creating more resilient “whole person” physicians.
The Platinum Plus level of lifestyle medicine curricula within medical schools supports graduates in achieving part of the prerequisites to become certified in lifestyle medicine by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM), following successful completion of the remaining prerequisites during residency training. In addition, Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), in collaboration with ACLM, currently offers the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum to any resident or fellow trainee within our system with a specific focus in family, internal and preventive medicine residency programs. The institution also offers the only Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist Fellowship program in the nation.
“For over 100 years, Loma Linda University School of Medicine has had a legacy of continuing the teaching and healing ministry of Christ through lifestyle medicine-oriented medical education, and this certification represents the culmination of a renewed effort to weave lifestyle medicine more extensively throughout our four-year curriculum,” said Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RD, DipABLM, Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist, FACLM, program director of the Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist Fellowship at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
Lifestyle medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on preventing, treating, and often reversing chronic diseases through lifestyle interventions. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions.
Loma Linda University has been a pioneer in integrating lifestyle medicine into healthcare education, research, and dietary habits, aligning with its mission to promote wholeness and wellness. The university is located in a blue zone, and is a Seventh-day Adventist institution known for its emphasis on whole person care of the mind, body and spirit.
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