Membership

Together, we are a force for change.

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation’s only medical professional association representing the interdisciplinary field of lifestyle medicine. ACLM and our members are united in our dedication to identifying and eradicating the root causes of chronic disease through the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. 

In addition to an array of member benefits, ACLM provides medical professionals with the training and resources they need to:

  • provide patient-centered, high-value, whole-person care
  • reignite their passion for the practice of medicine
  • treat, often reverse, and prevent the epidemic of chronic disease,
    adding years to lives and life to years
  • achieve healthcare’s Quintuple Aim and optimize value-based care

Can’t find what you are looking for? Connect directly with a Member Representative.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

The benefits of ACLM membership were curated so that you receive far more in value than the dollars you pay toward your annual membership. We wanted the return on investment of ACLM membership to be exceptional.

Your membership in ACLM is evidence of your commitment to redefining health care.

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

Physician dues are $249 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Physician members shall be doctors of medicine or osteopathy and hold a valid license in a relevant field as may be required by law. In addition, physician members shall be eligible to vote, be directors, and may hold office. Annual dues for Physician Members are to be set by the Board of Directors.

Physician members practicing in countries other than the United States and Canada must be certified by the medical specialty board or other certifying agency recognized in their country. International Physician members shall vote but not be eligible to be directors, officers, or hold office.

Those whose physician-level training occurred in a country other than the United States or Canada and whose equivalency in educational requirements cannot be adequately verified are not eligible to be Physician members.

Doctoral dues are $249 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Doctoral members shall hold clinical or academic doctoral degrees and be engaged in the practice, teaching, and/or research relevant to lifestyle medicine. Doctorates may include PhD, PharmD, PsychD, DC, ND, DNP, DPT, or other clinically appropriate doctorates approved on a case-by-case basis by the Board of Directors. Doctoral members shall hold a valid clinical license in a relevant field as required by law. The degree must be from an institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada. Those with Doctoral Membership shall be eligible to vote and be Directors but not hold office. Annual dues for Doctoral Members are to be set by the Board of Directors.

Doctoral members employed in countries other than the United States and Canada must be certified by the appropriate certifying agency recognized in their country. International Doctoral members shall not be eligible to vote, be directors, or hold office.

Those whose doctoral-level training occurred in a country other than the United States or Canada and whose equivalency in educational requirements cannot be adequately verified are not eligible to be Doctoral members.

Healthcare Executive Member dues are $249 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Healthcare Executive members shall hold a master’s degree or higher in Administration (such as MBA, MHA) and have a minimum of five (5) years experience in an executive-level position (VP or above) in a healthcare system, independent hospital, or other healthcare-related organization, which may include healthcare benefits consultancy or health plan.

Healthcare Executive members are expected to understand the efficacy of lifestyle when used as a therapeutic intervention to prevent and treat disease and are committed to advancing its cause in the healthcare industry and society in general. Healthcare Executive Members shall be eligible to vote. Healthcare Executive members may be elected as members of the Board of Directors, although ineligible to hold office.

Professional Team Member dues are $149 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Non-physician team members shall be part of or are interested in becoming part of the lifestyle medicine practice team. They may be certified healthcare professionals who have completed an accredited healthcare training program leading to a nationally recognized healthcare bachelor’s, associate’s, master’s or non-clinical doctorates in the United States or Canada, and hold a valid clinical license in their lifestyle medicine relevant field where required by law. In addition, the degree must be from an institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada.

Professional Team Members include, but are not limited to: registered dietitians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, physician assistants, exercise physiologists, physical therapists, kinesiotherapists, behavioral psychologists, occupational therapists, ethicists, etc. Professional Team Members shall vote and serve on committees (as assigned) but may not be eligible to be directors or hold office.

Resident and Fellow Trainee dues are $55 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Resident and Fellow Trainee members shall be in an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship program, with interest in lifestyle medicine. Members shall pay reduced dues but are eligible to vote in the general Board election and hold office within ACLM’s Trainee Executive Board. Resident and Fellow Trainee membership may be offered jointly with other organizations. One duly elected Student or Resident/Fellow training-level member shall have a seat on the Board of Directors.

Individuals who select the Resident and Fellow Trainee membership level will need to provide proof of verification.

To learn more about our opportunities, please click here.

Student dues are $55 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Student members shall be in a post-secondary training program (minimum 1/2 FTE) leading to a nationally recognized healthcare degree from an educational institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada., with interest in lifestyle medicine. Student members shall pay reduced dues but shall not vote and are not eligible to hold office as an Officer or Director but are eligible to vote and hold office within ACLM’s Trainee Executive Board. Student membership may be offered jointly with other organizations. One duly elected Student or Resident/Fellow training-level member shall have a seat on the Board of Directors.

Individuals who select the student membership level may need to provide proof of student verification upon request.

Affiliate dues are $149 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Affiliate Members include medical assistants, patient advocates, health coaches, life coaches, health educators, public relations or marketing professionals, and other interested parties who support and/or practice lifestyle medicine. Affiliate members may neither vote nor hold office. However, affiliate members are to be encouraged to support the business of the ACLM and may be involved in planning and implementing official business (committees and others) as assigned by the President, Executive Committee, and/or Board of Directors.

Retired dues are $55 a year. Members have the option to select automatic renewal payments.

Retired members shall no longer be engaged in gainful professional employment and do not qualify for any other membership classification. Retired members shall pay reduced dues but shall not vote and are not eligible to hold office. Physician or Doctoral retired members may serve on the Board of Directors.

The purchase of an ACLM membership for new and existing members is generally non-refundable. The policy also applies to memberships purchased before a new member promotion for waived new member fees. Exceptions may be made for the following:

Members dissatisfied with their membership may contact ACLM to request a refund if the refund is requested within 5 calendar days of renewing membership. ACLM will review member benefits utilized and determine if a refund will be granted.

If, on the rare exception, future year’s due payments have been paid upfront, any future year’s dues payments that have been paid are not eligible for a refund and are not considered under the membership dues refund policy.

To inquire about a refund, please submit a request through our Help Center.

The Need for Transformative Care

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Trillion: The Cost of Chronic Disease in the U.S.

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U.S. Population that has at least one chronic disease

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U.S. Physicians experience at least one sign of burnout

Source: CDC, AMA

Lifestyle Medicine is the Solution

  • Evidence overwhelmingly supports lifestyle medicine’s efficacy in treating, halting the progression, at times even reversing, as well as preventing chronic and select autoimmune conditions
  • Lifestyle medicine empowers patients to take far greater control of their health destinies, reducing the need for costly therapies
  • Lifestyle medicine is essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim: optimized patient experience, superior health outcomes, enhanced clinician wellbeing, health equity advancement, and improved population health– delivering financial and healthcare sustainability
  • Lifestyle medicine is needed to reverse the alarming trend of chronic disease afflicting over 60% of American adults and now far too many children
  • It’s the solution to addressing the restoration of both human and
    planetary health: the foods that protect health and fight disease are what will also enable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and preservation of natural resources

Ways ACLM is working in the field

  • Facilitating lifestyle medicine integration within health systems
  • Offering evidence-based CME/CE to educate and equip clinicians to prescribe lifestyle medicine as chronic disease first-line treatment
  • Championing “food as medicine” since 2004: whole food, plant predominant Rx for disease treatment, including ACLM’s commitment in support of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health; learn more at FoodAsMed.org
  • Advocating and supporting lifestyle medicine curricula and testing throughout all medical and healthcare education
  • Advocating at the national level for reimbursement and quality measures tied to outcomes, incentivizing and rewarding disease remission, and medication de-escalation
  • Igniting clinician and patient understanding that the power to reverse chronic disease is, in fact, attainable
  • Addressing lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities through ACLM’s Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative, the HEAL Scholarship Program, and the National Training Initiative, infusing lifestyle medicine into our nation’s FQHCs

MEMBER INTEREST GROUPS

Member Interest Groups provide opportunities to build relationships, collaborate and learn from other passionate lifestyle medicine practitioners.
Sundermann

“After practicing medicine for almost 20 years, I found myself with a strong calling to follow my passion as a healer. I wanted to find a way to combine both my personal and professional beliefs about what truly encompasses wellness. When I read about the 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, it truly felt like coming home.

Since attending my first ACLM conference in 2019 and taking (and passing:) the ACLM board exam, my entire life has blossomed. I am no longer feeling burned out as a primary care physician because I now have the tools to help my patients not only prevent, but also possibly reverse their chronic diseases. I have found that I am better able to empower and educate my patients with evidence-based resources to help them best succeed in achieving wellness and vitality. ”

Melissa Sundermann, DO, FACOI, DipABLM

Justin Charles

“When I arrived at medical school, I spent months emailing physicians from many specialties about my interest in comprehensive, compassionate, lifestyle-oriented care to treat chronic disease and improve patients’ physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. I was introduced by a faculty mentor to ACLM and from the moment I went on the website and read the description of the field, I was hooked. After attending my first ACLM conference, meeting like-minded individuals at all different stages of their careers, I knew I had found my professional home. It became clear that following, teaching, practicing, and promoting Lifestyle Medicine was my calling. This sense of purpose helped provide the support and motivation I needed to persevere through my medical training. Whatever direction my path takes, I plan to do everything in my power to help advance the field of Lifestyle Medicine.”

Justin Charles, MD

Decades of research conclusively prove that making healthy lifestyle choices, like eating more unrefined, plant-based foods, is an important strategy for preventing chronic disease, managing chronic conditions, and promoting overall health.

Rohit Moghe

“In my years of practice, I often found that we focused a lot on the “what” and the “why” with patients but lacked to show them the “how.” I wanted to focus on the “how” but lacked a legitimate place that was sound in the science and research of self-care behaviors. I finally found that place of like-minded professionals who are passionate about optimizing self-care behaviors- the six pillars- in their patients to prevent, mitigate, treat, and even reverse certain chronic conditions. Image a world where we offer choices to our patients, and they can choose to incorporate dosages of lifestyle medicine that help them liberate their dependence on medications. This is truly value-based care!”

Rohit Moghe, PharmD, MSPH, CDCES

Dawn Healthy Lifestyle

“I came across ACLM. I was amazed by the evidence-based education that was provided! I had found a community with like-minded healthcare professionals with the same desire I had to help eradicate the root causes of chronic disease. ACLM has provided me with the amazing opportunity to network with other pharmacists and healthcare professionals who have the same passion I do. Because of ACLM, I have access to so many clinical practice resources and CE opportunities.”

Pharmacist, Health Coach, DipACLM

Connect Logo Icon
ACLM Connect is our online member community. It is a private, professional hub where members can engage with other ACLM members and access your full range of benefits.

SOCIETY VALUES

Evidence Based

We claim results and outcomes supported by documented, verifiable evidence.

High Standards

We hold ourselves to the highest levels of competency, professionalism and ethics.

Integrity

We act fairly, in good faith and honestly.

Financial Transparency

We undergo an annual audit of our financials and take seriously our fiduciary responsibility to our members.

Health Equity

We recognize the impact of social determinants of health and strive to make lifestyle medicine accessible and effective for all.

Whole Person Health

We value the many aspects of health and well-being required for health restoration.

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October 27 – 30, 2024 | Orlando & Online

Celebrating 20 years of Lifestyle Medicine

Every Fall, ACLM hosts the premier continuing education event focused on lifestyle medicine – the therapeutic dose of proper nutrition, regular physical activity, social connection, restorative sleep, stress management, and avoidance of risky substances.

Stay Informed. Sign up for ACLM Insider News and Updates.

Insider is a periodic look into the political, industry and economic environment we face as an organization of lifestyle medicine pioneers. Delivered monthly you are offered a real opportunity to stay on trend with how lifestyle medicine is changing the foundation of health and health care in the United States and around the world.

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