What does this research mean for the field?

Shared Medical Appointment simulations significantly improve self-reported lifestyle medicine competencies in medical students. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.SUPPORTS_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to pilot a new elective course that incorporates Shared Medical Appointments to enhance lifestyle medicine training for medical students.

March 8, 2026Open Access

A Novel Curricular Approach to Lifestyle Medicine Education Through Shared Medical Appointment Simulations

Key Points

The research aims to pilot a new elective course that incorporates Shared Medical Appointments to enhance lifestyle medicine training for medical students.
Implemented a 12-week elective featuring weekly SMA simulations.
Focused on six pillars of lifestyle medicine as part of the curriculum.
Utilized a mixed-methods approach with retrospective pre-/post-surveys and thematic analysis of student reflections.
Significant improvement in medical student competencies across key areas, including Patient Care and Medical Knowledge.
Effect sizes ranged from 1.13 to 2.71, indicating strong educational impact.
Thematic analysis identified increased student confidence and skill development as major outcomes.

Abstract

Chronic lifestyle-related diseases affect two-thirds of Americans, yet lifestyle medicine (LM) training in medical education remains limited.Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) provide an innovative framework to teach and assess LM in undergraduate medical education (UME).Objective: To pilot a logic model-informed preclerkship elective using SMA simulations to teach and assess selfreported LM competencies in medical students.Methods: A 12week elective guided by ACLM competencies included weekly 150minute SMA simulations covering the six LM pillars.Students designed SMAs on lifestyle topics, received rubric-based feedback, and completed self-evaluations and reflections.This mixed-methods approach included quantitative analysis of retrospective pre-/postsurveys and qualitative thematic analysis.Results: Eleven participants completed the course, including six medical students and five health sciences students.Quantitative analysis (n = 6) revealed a significant improvement in medical student selfreported competencies in Patient Care (P = .01),Medical Knowledge (P < .01),Practice-Based Learning (P < .01),Interpersonal Skills (P < .01),and Professionalism (P = .03)with large effect sizes (1.13-2.71).Thematic analysis (n = 6) generated six themes highlighting increased confidence, real-world skill development, and strategies for sustaining group engagement.SMAbased pedagogy is feasible, effective, and scalable for developing and assessing LM competencies in early medical training.

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Cite This Study

Bishop et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69ada873bc08abd80d5bb628 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276261429925

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