Congratulations to our colleagues in the US on the announcement of the establishment of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM).
The ABLM sets and maintains standards for assessment and credentialing of physicians in Lifestyle Medicine. Certification as an ABLM diplomate signifies specialised knowledge in the practice of Lifestyle Medicine and distinguishes a physician as having achieved competency in Lifestyle Medicine.
Importantly, the establishment of the ABLM has featured extensive international consultation, leading to the formation of the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM). In practical terms, this means a consistent world-wide standard for Lifestyle Medicine Physicians and Practitioners. ASLM is represented on both the ABLM and the IBLM, and has been involved in the consultation process with a view to ensuring similar standards in Australasia subject to implementation to suit the local setting.
In brief, Board Certification involves the following:
- 12 hours of in-person Lifestyle Medicine specific education/CME
- A formal case study of your experience/practice/application of Lifestyle Medicine
- A formal exam:
- Duration: Maximum 4 hours
- Exam items/questions:
- 150 for Lifestyle Medicine physicians
- 120 for Lifestyle Medicine professionals
- Format: The inaugural exam is an in-person exam, while subsequent exams are likely to be online
Board Certification would not be possible without a rigorous set of competencies, and for that we have to thank a joint effort of the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) over a number of years, to develop, peer-review and publish the Lifestyle Medicine Core Competencies (LMCC) and to develop the educational content which is delivered by the ACPM learning management system.
The LMCC, announced in September 2016, teaches physicians how to incorporate lifestyle medicine into practice and establishes a new standard for primary care focused on disease prevention, health promotion, and care coordination. It provides a basic grounding in lifestyle medicine, a branch of evidence-based medicine in which comprehensive lifestyle changes are used to help prevent, treat, and reverse the progression of many chronic diseases by addressing their underlying causes – such as poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol abuse, stress, and poor sleep, to name a few. This commentary on the ACPM website explains further.
Dr Liana Lianov, one of the lead authors of the LMCC, shared some of the history of the endeavour with delegates at Lifestyle Medicine 2016 in Melbourne:
The LMCC is a 30 hour fully online course designed as post graduate education/continuing professional development for doctors and other practitioners, delivered in nine modules as follows:
- Core Competencies of Lifestyle Medicine
- Nutrition
- Physical Activity
- Coaching Behavior Change
- Sleep Health
- Tobacco Cessation
- Alcohol Use Risk Reduction
- Emotional Wellness/Stress Reduction
- Electives (choose 3 hours from 5 options)
At the conclusion, participants will be able to:
- Understand the fifteen core competencies of lifestyle medicine as identified in “Physician Competencies for Prescribing Lifestyle Medicine” (JAMA. 2010;304(2):202-203)
- Incorporate competencies into clinical practice
- Enhance efficacy in lifestyle assessments and evidence-based lifestyle prescriptions
- Leverage community and team-based resources to support lifestyle change
We’re delighted to be supporting an internationally consistent standard in Lifestyle Medicine competency.
Read more about:
Liana Lianov, MD, MPH, FACPM
As an innovative physician leader in preventive medicine/public health and internal medicine, Dr. Lianov has advanced the lifestyle medicine movement in the US and internationally. She received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM). Dr. Lianov is the lead author for the 2010 publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association that unveiled the lifestyle medicine core competencies for physicians, recommended by a national blue ribbon panel of health professional organizations.
In her roles as immediate past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and chair of the Lifestyle Medicine Task Force and the Lifestyle Medicine Competencies Working Group of ACPM, and Preventive Medicine/Public Health regent on the ACPM board Dr. Lianov spurred awareness in the medical community about the critical need for healthy lifestyles not only as the key to prevention, but also treatment and reversal of lifestyle-related diseases. She is the lead faculty for the first of its kind intensive lifestyle medicine curriculum for physicians sponsored by ACPM and ACLM.
Dr. Lianov led the development of the Healthier Life Steps program at the American Medical Association, while serving as its Health Lifestyles Division Director, leading initiatives to support physicians in helping their patients build healthy habits. She broadly promotes the crucial role of healthy lifestyles and environments to patients, the public and professional audiences through her numerous presentations and publications in the US and abroad. Dr. Lianov is also an advisor to the True Health Initiative that aims to reveal the truth behind chronic diseases and promoting healthy communities., as well as the president of the International Scientific Committee of GoodMorningDoctor, a successful Italian health social network that is being expanded worldwide.
After completing a psychiatry fellowship, she founded HealthType LLC which implements innovative strategies for making sustainable health behavior change and offers consulting services for digital health projects. Her passion is to widely disseminate methods of promoting emotional well-being, as the key foundation to a healthy lifestyle. Her new wellbeing client and coach apps at myhappyavatar.com, based in positive psychology and cutting edge neuroscience have recently been released. HealthType LLC is collaborating with partners to link individuals with community-based, virtual and tourism resources that promote healthy lifestyles.
