Do Medical Students Appreciate Lifestyle Medicine and Are They Confident in Their Skills?

Abstract

Introduction: As the prevalence of chronic diseases increases worldwide, there is a need for educating future physicians in the use of lifestyle medicine to treat and prevent diseases. Any addition to the undergraduate medical curriculum requires a strategic educational approach with consideration for efficiency. This study aims to identify priorities for lifestyle medicine interventions in the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Methods: Third-year medical students (N=115) were surveyed on their beliefs about lifestyle medicine and their confidence in lifestyle medicine skills. The survey consisted of seven items to which students responded with how closely they agreed via a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were reported.

Results: Most medical students entering their clinical years understand the value of lifestyle medicine in patient care (100%) and want to learn the skills and knowledge involved (98.2%). The value of lifestyle medicine counseling skills during the limited patient-doctor time was least universally acknowledged among third-year medical students (93.9%). Third-year medical students are most confident in being able to obtain a comprehensive lifestyle history (3.6±0.8) and least confident in setting clear, personalized, lifestyle change goals (3.1±0.9).

Conclusion: Future interventions to increase confidence in lifestyle medicine skills should focus on educating students on setting lifestyle change goals, personalizing prescriptions, and motivational interviewing for use in clinical care.