Curriculum

Year 1

Summer Rotation / Introduction to Culinary Medicine 

The summer before matriculation into medical school, students will begin learning about culinary medicine.

Requirements before matriculating into WVU:

• One required reading
• Completion of one online learning module, "Disease Implications of Diet: Introduction to Culinary Medicine"
• Students will attend a several day on-campus experience during the week directly before first-year orientation. This experience will include:
  • Introductions and review of the goals, duties and timeline of the track
  • Educational work, such as discussion of the required reading and online module
  • Teaching Kitchen
  • Meeting with faculty and participants

School year (August-May)

Clinical Learning Group (CLG)

During the first year of medical school, CLMT students will follow the traditional medical school curriculum.

Students enrolled in the track will be assigned to the same Clinical Learning Group (CLG). The clinical cases will be augmented with information and questions about the lifestyle medicine perspective while maintaining the core competencies already established for the traditional curriculum.

This group is led by a School of Medicine faculty physician with expertise in nutrition. The CLG allows for enhanced educational information and discussion in nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

My first patient experience:

Students will do a personal assessment of their own health status and dietary habits.

Begin work towards Completion of Requirements for the Culinary Medicine Specialist Certificate

• Students need to complete two online assignments from the Health Meets Food curriculum during their first year.
  • Each assignment includes readings and a case study and will take approximately three hours to complete.
  • Assignments will be discussed with faculty in a group setting.
• Students will attend two separate two–hour teaching sessions in the kitchen with students from the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

Culinary Medicine Interest Group Meetings

Students are encouraged to attend the monthly Culinary Medicine Interest Group meetings and show leadership by planning some of those activities.

Summer semesters between Year 1 and Year 2

Summer Externship

Rising second-year CLMT students are required to participate in an additional two-week education and clinical experience at a location where students can live together and develop a sense of community.

This externship will focus on clinical skills and practical information regarding nutritional concepts and lifestyle medicine advice which can be given to patients. Housing will be provided and a small stipend will be given to the participants.

Students will:

• Continue to build on lifestyle education, with lectures and experiences from guest lecturers such as psychologists, obesity medicine physicians, sleep specialists and psychiatrists
• Participate in hands-on food prep classes under the guidance of a chef
• Work with a community physician, local dietitians and exercise-trained specialists
• See patients in clinic and hospital situations
• Begin a research project
• Employ their patient history-taking skills (including diet and lifestyle habits)
• Complete two online modules

Year 2

School year August -May

Continue work towards Completion of Requirements for the Culinary Medicine Certificate

Students will:

• Complete four online assignments from the Health Meets Food curriculum during this school year
  • One module during the first semester
  • Two modules over Christmas break
  • One module during the second semester
• Meet with faculty to discuss the modules and complete the cases
• Have the opportunity to attend one teaching kitchen per semester

Year 3

MedCHEFS educational workshop(s) (2-3 hours food preparation session in kitchen setting)  

• All WVU MS3 medical students attend one MedCHEF workshop per year.
• CLMT students must attend at least one additional MedCHEF workshop, but may attend up to a total of four during their third year.

Continue work towards Completion of Requirements for the Culinary Medicine Certificate

• Students need to complete five online assignments from the Health Meets Food curriculum during this school year. The topics correspond to third-year clerkships, which include OBGYN, family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and surgery.
• Students will come together to discuss modules as a group with faculty at least once per semester

Student activities

• Help to organize and participate in group visits based around health conditions which can be improved with better lifestyle management choices
• Participate in a clinical research project
• Create a poster abstract for display in a peer-reviewed poster session at a conference

Year 4

One elective month: Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine

During this time, students will have dedicated time to complete the online modules necessary to sit for the Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist (CCMS) exam, as well as finish the research project started earlier in the curriculum.

Even those students who are NOT sitting for the CCMS exam are required to spend two weeks in a clinic seeing patients or doing nutrition research and two additional weeks completing online modular work.

Prior to Medical School graduation

In the spring of the fourth year, after all of the residency interviews and selection process is complete, students will be able to sit for the Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist exam.

Culinary Medicine Interest Group (CMIG) Meetings

Students are expected to attend the monthly Culinary Medicine Interest Group meetings and show leadership by planning some of those activities.