ROCKVILLE, Md.—Ten medical schools have been selected to participate in a two-year quality improvement project to refine, implement and assess a competency-based obesity education curriculum, The Obesity Society (TOS) announced today. Nationally and internationally, numerous medical organizations have highlighted the need for more medical school training on the science and practice of obesity care. This program is a first step to fill that need.
In addition to having access to 12 curated obesity education modules called Focus on Obesity Education (FORWARD), the schools will work collaboratively to create lectures, case-studies, simulations and small group learning experiences that address the science and practice of obesity. The purpose of the project is to improve the care of people living with obesity by educating future physicians. The schools are scheduled to complete their work in June 2025.
“We are exceptionally pleased that the schools represent a wide range of diversity in student body and number, geography, private and public, and allopathic and osteopathic institutions. These schools will be fertile grounds for creating and testing evidence-based curricular content,” said Robert Kushner, MD, professor of medicine and medical education, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. Kushner is chair of the project’s Steering Committee.
The schools were selected based on need, diversity, preparedness, commitment and ability to implement a new obesity curriculum. The project’s Steering Committee selected the schools through applications, in-depth questionnaires and one-on-one virtual interviews using a standardized quantitative and qualitative scoring system.
The medical schools that will be participating include Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif., Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, East Lansing, Mich., UT Health San Antonio, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, San Antonio, Texas, Howard University, Washington, DC, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Ill., John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai’i, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, Calif., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Mich., and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
The FORWARD quality improvement project is supported by a multi-year medical grant from Novo Nordisk to The Obesity Society. All curricular materials developed by the project will eventually be available through an open access website hosted by TOS.
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The Obesity Society (TOS) is the leading organization of scientists and health professionals devoted to understanding and reversing the epidemic of obesity and its adverse health, economic and societal effects. Combining the perspective of researchers, clinicians, policymakers and patients, TOS promotes innovative research, education and evidence-based clinical care to improve the health and well-being of all people with obesity. For more information, visit www.obesity.org.