From left: Silvia Caswell, preventive medicine program director; Elena Colussi-Pelaez, preventive medicine resident physician; and Karen Studer, preventive medicine chair.
Loma Linda University Health’s preventive medicine residency program has been ranked in the top three in the nation and first in California by Doximity, a digital network for healthcare clinicians.
“Loma Linda was founded on prevention, and this designation by Doximity recognizes the accomplishments of our Preventive Medicine Department as they have helped patients learn disease-preventing lifestyles,” said Jason Gatling, an associate professor at Loma Linda School of Medicine and an LLUH Designated Institutional Official. “This focus has attracted many talented residents and medical students who want to be part of this program to provide high-level preventive medical care.”
LLUH currently has 17 preventive medicine residents in its Preventive Medicine program (approximately seven per year of residency), and is one of the larger programs in the country, Gatling said. The residents go through the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC).
LLUH has long prioritized preventive medicine and healthy lifestyles. It established its preventive medicine residency in 1979, focusing on lifestyle medicine, global health, and whole-person care. LLUH was an early adopter of the lifestyle medicine residency curriculum (LMSC) and helped create the curriculum in collaboration with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. In 2017, several LLUH physicians were among the first 200 physicians in the nation to earn the inaugural certification from the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.
LLUH preventive medicine residents work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, county health departments, SAC Health (a local FQHC partner), and global rotation options. Concentration options include quality improvement, lifestyle medicine, maternal health, obesity medicine, and global health.