Nation’s first lifestyle medicine-certified medical school dean appointed at University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
ABLM diplomate Dr. Phyllis MacGilvray’s appointment demonstrates the advancement of lifestyle medicine in medical education and the School of Medicine Greenville’s commitment to preparing the next generation of physicians to place lifestyle medicine at the foundation of health and health care.
By Sally Crocker
September 12, 2024
The path Phyllis MacGilvray, MD, DipABLM, took to become the first lifestyle medicine board-certified medical school dean in the country started with her commitment to patients, medical education, research and a passion for advancing evidence-based lifestyle interventions to treat, reverse and prevent chronic diseases.
In July, Dr. MacGilvray was appointed dean of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (SOMG), which is one of only two American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Platinum Plus-certified medical schools in the U.S. Her career spans more than 20 years as a family medicine physician. During that time, she has helped many patients transform their health through lifestyle medicine.
Patients with heart disease, dangerously high cholesterol levels, diabetes, sleep issues and obesity-related conditions like joint pain have seen positive outcomes under Dr. MacGilvray’s care by applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine — a whole food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections and avoidance of risky substances.
As dean, MacGilvray’s mission is to promote health for individuals, communities and populations, and to inspire and equip the next generation of physicians to do the same. She is passionate about advancing the field of lifestyle medicine and is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and collaborative culture at the school.
Becoming lifestyle medicine board certified
Dr. MacGilvray was a practicing physician board-certified in family medicine in Greenville and vice chair for Academic Affairs at Prisma Health – the state’s largest non-profit health care system that partnered with USC to help create the new medical school in Greenville – when she made the decision to pursue lifestyle medicine certification.
Prisma Health and SOMG are closely connected, with Prisma Health providing a robust clinical teaching faculty and hands-on medical training and clinical experience for medical students. This partnership gives students practical experience in a real-world health care setting and an opportunity to learn from practitioners in various specialties. Family medicine-track students are able to continue their lifestyle medicine training through the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum.
For nine months, Dr. MacGilvray worked through the online Lifestyle Medicine Board Certification course, preparing for the exam that was administered immediately following the 2019 ACLM annual conference. She studied nights and weekends, although it didn’t feel like work.
“The most stimulating part of the training was learning ways of incorporating lifestyle medicine into tips that patients could immediately use to improve their health,” she said. “ACLM resources became very impactful to my practice.”
In her practice, which she continues during her new role as dean, Dr. MacGilvray offers valuable, practical advice. If patients aren’t engaging in 150 minutes of exercise each week, she works with them toward that goal. She talks with them about sleep and its importance in helping the body function well. She explores the need for social connection with her patients and ways to eat more healthfully. She discusses lifestyle medicine with those who are reluctant to start certain medications, and those who hope to reduce or someday eliminate their medications.
A powerful number of like minds
When she went to take the board certification exam, Dr. MacGilvray was astounded by the number of people there. She sat near a cardiologist, a nephrologist and other physicians, as well as colleague and ACLM partner Jennifer Trilk, PhD, FACSM, DipACLM, who serves as SOMG professor of Biomedical Sciences and director of Lifestyle Medicine Programs. Dr. Trilk co-founded LMEd, which offers open access to a collection of evidence-based curricular resources to train future clinicians in prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases.
“When I came to the Prisma Health/SOMG campus in 2018, I was really struck by the work that Dr. Trilk had done and what was happening clinically with lifestyle medicine,” Dr. MacGilvray said. “Many physicians practice lifestyle medicine not just with their patients but in their own daily lives and with their families.”
Dr. MacGilvray began teaching at SOMG as an associate professor in 2018, and today teaches a class for medical students on high blood pressure, hypertension and how certain foods can naturally lower the risks.
“Did you know that beets are rich in nitrous oxide, with the ability to increase circulation and blood flow, positively impacting cardiovascular health?” is just one of the tips she shares.
The path to leadership
Immediately prior to becoming dean, Dr. MacGilvray served as the school’s senior associate dean for Academic Affairs. In this role, she oversaw all aspects of undergraduate medical education, lifestyle medicine and SOMG’s new three-year Primary Care Accelerated Track program, designed to help combat the nationwide physician shortage.
As the new dean, Dr. MacGilvray leads a young medical school that welcomed its inaugural class of students in July 2012, centered on a unique, state-of-the-art curriculum.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead our medical school into the next chapter of our very exciting journey,” she said. “I am deeply committed to our students, faculty and staff, as we continue to address the challenges in health care and improve health and well-being within our community and beyond. Driven by a hands-on, holistic, patient-centered focus, SOMG is poised to build on our successes and continue to be an innovator in medical education.”
A mission for a healthier future
Among Dr. MacGilvray’s first initiatives as dean was to ask the school’s Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) to study the campus and advise on how it can become more lifestyle medicine friendly. She has a special interest in looking at food vending services through a lifestyle medicine lens.
Dean MacGilvray is also focused on bolstering research, especially related to health disparities and the social determinants of health. Additionally, she wants to pursue funding that relieves students’ debt through scholarships during their entire medical school program.
Lifestyle medicine will be an important part of SOMG’s new mission, vision and values statement that’s currently in development. The draft mission is: “Educate. Innovate. Serve. Where Lifestyle is Medicine.”
Building together across campus
In the short time since her appointment, Dr. MacGilvray’s aspirations for SOMG have gained considerable support and momentum.
“I am truly honored to have Dean MacGilvray leading us and to work with her to further advance lifestyle medicine education and culture at School of Medicine Greenville,” Dr. Trilk said. “She has believed in the power of lifestyle medicine for years, even taking the step to become lifestyle medicine board-certified, and her mission and values align perfectly with our school.”
“The students who come to School of Medicine Greenville because of the lifestyle medicine curriculum have the biggest champion in ‘Dean Mac.’ I envision an amazing future under her leadership.
