Developing and implementing an obesity medicine fellowship program: Experience at a U.S. academic medical center

Abstract

Background

Obesity is a prevalent and complex chronic disease yet physicians’ training in obesity care is often inadequate. Fellowship training in obesity medicine is now available at multiple academic medical centers; however, there has been limited description and evaluation of these programs to date. Therefore, this article describes our curriculum development process and fellowship program implementation experience at a U.S. academic medical center.

Methods

This was a structured, multi-phase curriculum development study guided by established obesity medicine competencies and certification standards. We used a six-step approach to curriculum development to guide our design with content informed by the Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative competencies, American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) content outline, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education - International Obesity Medicine Fellowship program requirements. We utilized several tools of instruction as well as modes of assessing learners. Feedback from fellows and faculty was used to iteratively refine the program over the initial 3 years.

Results

We identified 19 content domains key for obesity medicine. Within each domain, we created instructional components including didactic e-lectures, directed readings, reflective assignments, role play activities, and clinical experiences. We developed evaluation tools to determine trainee progress including knowledge check assessments, mini-clinical evaluation exercises (mini-CEXs), and structured feedback. Early outcomes indicate that trainees achieve competence in obesity care, engage in meaningful scholarly activity, and benefit from professional development opportunities. All graduating fellows have successfully achieved ABOM certification. Feedback has informed fellowship refinements, particularly improvements in rotation timing and duration as well as additional subspecialty elective options.

Conclusion

This obesity medicine fellowship curriculum provides a structured, multidisciplinary program and graduates have achieved competency in obesity care. Obesity medicine fellowship training holds promise in advancing the field through innovative education and leadership development.