Abstract
Chronic lifestyle-related diseases affect two-thirds of Americans, yet lifestyle medicine (LM) training in medical education remains limited. Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) provide an innovative framework to teach and assess LM in undergraduate medical education (UME). Objective: To pilot a logic model-informed pre-clerkship elective using SMA simulations to teach and assess self-reported LM competencies in medical students. Methods: A 12-week elective guided by ACLM competencies included weekly 150-minute SMA simulations covering the six LM pillars. Students designed SMAs on lifestyle topics, received rubric-based feedback, and completed self-evaluations and reflections. This mixed-methods approach included quantitative analysis of retrospective pre-/post-surveys and qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Eleven participants completed the course, including six medical students and five health sciences students. Quantitative analysis (n = 6) revealed a significant improvement in medical student self-reported competencies in Patient Care (P = .01), Medical Knowledge (P < .01), Practice-Based Learning (P < .01), Interpersonal Skills (P < .01), and Professionalism (P = .03) with large effect sizes (1.13-2.71). Thematic analysis (n = 6) generated six themes highlighting increased confidence, real-world skill development, and strategies for sustaining group engagement. SMA-based pedagogy is feasible, effective, and scalable for developing and assessing LM competencies in early medical training.
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