The Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) is a comprehensive, applicable, and flexible curriculum that prepares residents to make evidence-based, lifestyle behavior interventions. The LMRC was initially launched in 2018 to fill the gap in lifestyle medicine and nutrition education in graduate medical education (GME).
Nutrition, a cornerstone alongside five other pillars of lifestyle medicine, has been proven effective in both treating and preventing lifestyle-related chronic diseases. The LMRC addresses the critical gap in medical education by emphasizing the transformative power of food as medicine. Aligning with the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine competencies, over 25% of the LMRC focuses on nutrition in chronic disease; from prevention to treatment and remission.
The LMRC consists of both educational and practicum components. Its educational component includes 40 hours of interactive virtual didactic material along with 60 hours of application activities designed to be completed over a one- to three-year time period. The practicum component enables residents to clearly demonstrate ongoing exposure to and use of the principles of lifestyle medicine in the clinical setting with patients. It includes 400 lifestyle medicine-related patient encounters, 10 hours of (Intensive) therapeutic lifestyle change (ITLC or TLC) program experience, and 10 hours of group facilitation experience.
Upon completion of the educational and practicum components, residents qualify to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) certification exam.