I came across an article about the newly created Alice Walton (Walmart heiress) School of Medicine. Here’s an excerpt about what’s different about the approach they’re taking.
Instead of drilling young physicians to chase symptom after symptom and perform test after test, Alice Walton wants her school’s graduates to keep patients healthy by practicing something that most doctors today don’t prioritize: preventive medicine and whole-health principles, which involve caring for (and not just treating) the entire person and all of the factors—from their mental health to their living conditions and lifestyle choices—that contribute to wellbeing.
Those aren’t new ideas, of course, but traditional medicine has only paid lip service to them. Experts have noted that while as much as 80% of medical education focuses on biology, about 60% of premature deaths are due to behavioral factors including lifestyle habits like diet, exercise, and smoking.
I also appreciated this excerpt on nutrition.
While the medical school accreditation organization recommends that curriculums devote at least 25 hours of instruction to nutrition, most schools average about 20 hours, in some cases only as electives. AWSOM’s curriculum currently includes more than 50 hours of nutrition-related training, including culinary classes.
Doctors-to-be will spend class time gardening and at a teaching farm, learning about the seasonality of fresh foods and how to cook them—then passing those lessons onto patients. “There is a lack of understanding of nutrition and so much exposure to fast food,” Bunch says of her own struggles with weight and finding healthy food options growing up. “It wasn’t until a doctor talked to me about nutrition in a whole-health way that I understood the mental and psychological aspects of weight, and that empowered me to finally take control of my health.”
Some of the most transformative lessons I’ve learnt in the past year have been on the impact of nutrition on my health. I couldn’t be more excited about Alice Walton’s approach at her School of Medicine.
It lives up to its acronym – AWSOM.
