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Help your students stand out by bringing lifestyle medicine to your program

Equip your students to meet the future of healthcare head on. ACLM’s academic pathways for master’s and doctoral health professions programs prepare students for lifestyle medicine certification while still in school. By aligning your curriculum with ACLM’s core competencies, your students gain a powerful head start in the only medical specialty focused on treating the root causes of chronic disease.

Participating institutions include:

Become an approved Partial Academic Pathway

Empower your students to take the first step toward becoming certified in lifestyle medicine.

Academic programs accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation can qualify as an ACLM Partial Academic Pathway by offering at least one course covering 22% or more of the lifestyle medicine core competencies. Students who complete an approved course fulfill the 20-hour event CE requirement for the ACLM certification exam.

Complete the Competencies Checklist 

Submit a Course Application

Eligible programs include:

  • Nursing
  • Physician associate
  • Nurse practitioner
  • Registered dietitian
  • Public health
  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • And related fields

To qualify, a course must meet at least twenty-two (22) of the lifestyle medicine core competencies, including at least one competency from the Nutrition Science, Assessment and Prescription domain and at least one competency from the Physical Activity Science, Assessment, and Prescription domain

Step 1: Download and complete the core competencies checklist

Completing this checklist will help ensure your course meets the requirements to qualify as a partial academic pathway.

Step 2: Complete the partial academic pathway application

Please note that submission of the application requires uploading both the completed competencies checklist and the course syllabus.

Rolling deadline: Apply at least 30 days before your course begins.

Lifestyle medicine core competencies

The foundation of lifestyle medicine certification

The lifestyle medicine core competencies provide guidance on the knowledge and skills needed for clinicians to provide high quality lifestyle interventions that optimize chronic disease outcomes. These competencies form the foundation for the lifestyle medicine certification exam. Originally published in 2010 and updated in 2022, the competencies were updated again in 2025 to reflect the growing evidence base in the field. Regular updates are anticipated to align with the ongoing scientific studies and evolution of the field.

 Read the 2025 Publication

Why integrate lifestyle medicine into your program?

Lifestyle medicine is the fastest growing medical specialty that’s evidence-based and focused on whole-person care. Students entering into the healthcare field recognize these approaches as central to the future of care, and they’re seeking training that reflects this vision. Academic programs that offer pathways to lifestyle medicine certification meet a pressing educational need while standing out as forward-thinking and student-centric.

Explore Participating Programs

Become a Full Academic Pathway

Take the next step

A comprehensive path for health professions students to prepare for lifestyle medicine certification

Build on your institution’s partial academic pathway status to meet lifestyle medicine certification prerequisites within your program. Students who complete this track are eligible to sit for the certification exam for up to three years after graduation.

Requirements:

  • Approved ACLM Partial Academic Pathway status

  • At least one lifestyle medicine board-certified faculty member (DipACLM, DipABLM, or DiplBLM)

  • An active, student-led Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG)

  • Integration of ACLM’s 30-hour Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine Board Review Course into the curriculum

  • Institutional accreditation recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Submit Application

Explore free curricula to help you integrate lifestyle medicine into your program

Lifestyle Medicine 101

Free, ready-to-use LM101 curriculum includes thirteen (13) slide decks that follow Dr. Elizabeth Frates’ award winning Lifestyle Medicine Handbook. Available as PDF and PPT to eligible faculty, this curriculum can be tailored to a variety of educational settings. This complimentary curriculum comes complete with a syllabus and instructor’s manual.

Download LM101

Culinary Medicine

Free, ready-to-use 9 session curriculum based on the ground-breaking work of Dr. Michelle Hauser. Highly versatile this framework can be integrated in various health professional education settings. The curriculum establishes a strong foundation in Culinary Medicine and is a key part of supporting patients in achieving better health outcomes. The curriculum comes complete with an instructor’s guide, recipes, shopping lists and more.

Explore the Program & Curriculum

Find inspiration. Hear from faculty like you.

Discover how health professions programs are integrating lifestyle medicine into their curricula—empowering future clinicians with the tools to treat, reverse, and prevent chronic disease. We’re grateful to the dedicated faculty who generously shared their insights and experiences.

This session explores how lifestyle medicine and geriatrics intersect to promote health, function, and quality of life for older adults. As the population ages, understanding how to integrate evidence-based lifestyle interventions into geriatric care is becoming essential to improving outcomes and supporting healthy aging.

Expert speakers share how applying the Age-Friendly Health Systems 5M Framework aligns with lifestyle medicine principles to guide whole-person, values-based care. By connecting the science of aging with the practice of lifestyle medicine, this session offers actionable insights for clinicians dedicated to helping patients thrive later in life—physically, mentally, and socially.

Ideal for: Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dietitians, therapists, and all healthcare professionals interested in geriatrics, healthy aging, and lifestyle medicine.

Watch Now

This session spotlights how lifestyle medicine is reshaping medical education to better address chronic disease and health inequities in underserved communities. By partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), ACLM is working to ensure the next generation of underrepresented clinicians are equipped with the tools to treat, reverse, and prevent lifestyle-related conditions.

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Listen as Melissa Bernstein, Associate Professor and Chair of the Nutrition Program at Roslyn Franklin University, shares insights on the intersection of lifestyle medicine, nutrition, and health professions education.

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Listen as Karla Rodriguez, Kathleen Wilson, Elizabeth Winnings, Ali Craig-Rodriguez, Terri Gibson and Kelly Freeman shares insights on the crosswalk of the lifestyle medicine pillars, AACN Essentials, and nursing curriculum.

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Listen in as Physician Associates (Assistants) Sarah-Ann Keyes, Amber Tiegen, Adrian Banning, Paula Phelps, and Emily Landis discuss their journeys of integrating lifestyle medicine curriculum, address the barriers to integration along with practical solutions and ways to find support.

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In this video-podcast, Occupational Therapists Zipporah Brown, Amy Sadek, and Shelly Norvell discuss how they utilize lifestyle medicine in their practice.

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