Health Professions Partial Academic Pathway to Certification for Students

Faculty members who teach in health professions master’s and doctoral programs can help their students achieve certification in lifestyle medicine by applying for a course waiver with ACLM. By demonstrating that a lifestyle medicine course taught at the university level includes a minimum of 22 core competencies, ACLM will provide a certificate of waiver equal to the 10 hours of requisit in-person education to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine Certification Exam to students who successfully complete an ACLM approved course.

Health professions programs eligible for this opportunity include nursing, physicians associate, nurse practitioner, dietitian, occupational therapy, physical therapy, public health, and others. If you have a program that you’d like to have considered, please email support@lifetstylemedicine.org.

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Download the Partial Academic Pathway flyer to share with colleagues and leaders within your university.

Download Flyer

Participating Programs:

Arizona State University
Indiana University
Loma Linda University
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Florida State University
Southern Adventist University
Western University of Health Sciences
Harding University Doctoral Physical Therapy Program
North Dakota State University
North Central College
Rory Meyers NYU College of Nursing
Southern California University of Health Sciences
University of Puget Sound School of Occupational Therapy
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Jacksonville University Keigwin School of Nursing
The University of North Texas
University of Toledo
Creighton
University of Cincinnati

To properly evaluate your course, please fill out the Competencies Checklist and submit with your application.

Application Deadlines:

Spring Semester: February 15, 2023
Summer Semester: June 15, 2023
Fall Semester: September 15, 2023

Core Competency Checklist

For a course to qualify for the Academic Pathway, it must meet the following criteria:

Twenty-two (22) of the competencies below must be met within the course
One competency must be from the Nutrition Science, Assessment and Prescription Domain
One competency must be from the Physical Activity Science, Assessment, and Prescription Domain

The lifestyle medicine core competencies were developed by a committee of physicians from several medical specialties to provide guidance on the knowledge and skills needed for physicians to provide high quality lifestyle interventions that optimize chronic disease outcomes. These competencies were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2010 and used as the foundation for the first lifestyle medicine course and for the lifestyle medicine board certification examination. In the ensuing years, interest in the field and application has expanded to a variety of health professionals. With evolution of the lifestyle medicine evidence-base, the competencies have been updated. This article sums up the changes in their organization and content. Regular updates are anticipated to align with the ongoing scientific studies and evolution of the field.

Original physician LM core competencies 2010

Updated multidisciplinary LM competencies 2022

Download Checklist

Submit Application

Upon completing this document, please sign and submit it through this portal.

Lifestyle Medicine Certification

Most physicians and health professionals receive little to no education on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, social connectivity, and the avoidance of risky substance use which are the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine.

Certification in Lifestyle Medicine indicates that the individual has mastered the science of preventing, treating, and reversing chronic disease in an evidence-based manner with official acknowledgement from the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (for physicians and specialists) or the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (for professionals and practitioners).

Become Certified

Annual Lifestyle Medicine Conference

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.