An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Obesity Management to Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: The need for education of future and current providers in evidence-based management of obesity and the release of new treatment guidelines prompted the development of a resource for use in the education of medical students and residents. Methods: A self-contained module was developed to provide an overview of recent guidelines for obesity management utilizing evidence-based medicine while debunking popular myths associated with available weight-loss strategies. The module was delivered over 15 months to six groups of learners (N = 180) and was continuously improved through feedback from content experts and the learners. After completion of the module, one subset of learners responded to a three-question survey using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Results: Formal evaluation of the module was completed by a subset of the learners ( N = 32, 64% response rate). The majority agreed or strongly agreed with these survey statements: "Overall this module was valuable as an educational tool" (97%, Mdn = 4); "After completion of this module, I am confident of my knowledge on how to manage obesity in adult patients" (84%, Mdn = 4); and "It was easy to navigate the module" (94%, Mdn = 5). Discussion: This module could be implemented as is at other institutions that strive to educate medical students or residents on the most recent guidelines and evidence-based medicine regarding obesity management.

Management of Obesity During Pregnancy and Periconception: Case-Based Learning for OB/GYN Clerkships

“…Our CBL module helps close the gap in this area of medical education by providing a resource that both explores the interplay between obesity and reproductive health and delivers this information in an effective and engaging way. Although some educational and teaching resources exist regarding medical management of obesity alone, 4 our module builds upon them by implementing the fundamentals of obesity management in the setting of reproductive health care and pregnancy and including reflection about implicit bias and how it affects health care delivery.…”

“…We further extended our search to other databases, including PubMed, Association of Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and the Endocrine Society, and found that while plenty of publications regarding the interplay of obesity and reproductive health existed, none were formatted to serve as a teaching tool. Some educational and teaching resources consider medical management of obesity from the perspective of an internist, 4 but there remains a lack of readily available learning resources for medical students on the management of obesity as it relates to reproductive health and, specifically, the effects of bariatric surgery on pregnancy. As a result, our module was designed to build upon these resources by presenting the knowledge to guide this type of management from the viewpoint of an obstetrics provider.…”

“…Therefore, this module has also been designed to explore these implicit biases. 5,6 Overall, our goal was to build upon evidencebased approaches to obesity management 4 by teaching medical students how to reflect on innate biases so that they would be prepared to provide patient-centered care to pregnant patients.…”

An Interprofessional Nutrition Education Session for Senior Medical Students on Evidence-Based Diet Patterns and Practical Nutrition Tips

“…Several publications in MedEdPORTAL address topics in nutrition education, including the use of interprofessional education in diet assessment and counseling, obesity management, and online learning modules for obesity management and exercise. [6][7][8][9] Our interactive didactic session adds to this group of resources by addressing select popular diets and diet patterns and providing practical tools that clinicians can use in dietary assessment and counseling. This combination of teaching both key evidencebased nutrition information and basic nutrition tools makes the session high yield and directly applicable to clinical care.…”

An Interactive Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum for Third-Year Medical Students to Promote Student and Patient Wellness

“…Several MedEdPORTAL publications deal with obesity counseling and behavioral change curricula, and one offers a wellness program for undergraduate medical students, but none specifically focus on the discipline of lifestyle medicine that simultaneously emphasizes patient and personal wellness. [13][14][15][16][17] Recognizing these curricular gaps at our own institution and appreciating the unique stressors and obstacles our students face in trying to make positive lifestyle choices, we developed and delivered a series of interactive workshops with the goal of teaching students about the lifestyle and behavioral factors that affect the health of both the patients they care for and themselves. We used the combined instructional modalities of didactic presentations, small-group discussions, and individual reflective practices to deliver curricular content and engage students.…”