Student feedback collected in the third term of the modules’ first run, showed that 93% of respondents (n=260) recognised LMAP’s relevance for their role as a future doctor. Students also reflected on how this has challenged or altered their understanding of health, especially in relation to preventive medicine, the doctor as a role model and the importance of empathy in addressing wider health determinants.
We take pride in inspiring our students to apply the knowledge and skills gained from LMAP teaching beyond the classroom. Here are a few examples of student feedback and outputs including podcasts, articles and initiatives led by our students in relation to lifestyle medicine and prevention.
quotes
“LMAP has made me more mindful of how wider determinants acting on an individual, some of which are outside of their control, have a large influence on their health status (e.g. socio-economic status). I intend to consider these factors when treating patients in the future, and not just making assumptions, in order to provide the best possible care.”
“LMAP demonstrated the fact that often small changes in lifestyle can lead to big improvements in the health of an individual; lifestyle factors (no matter how difficult they may be to change) should never be overlooked, they provide an invaluable insight into an individual's condition. The importance that LMAP placed on external factors is something that I will carry through in my future practice as a doctor.”
“Medicine is often perceived as the field of caring for those that are ill; LMAP has showed me that its role in the field of medicine is not just about challenging those who are already ill, but preventing at-risk individuals, or the population as a whole, from getting ill in the first place. This, of course, seems obvious, but considering the lack of staff in hospitals, for example, unnecessary admissions are of great burden to the NHS, so preventing illness is a hugely important aspect of medicine in real-life.”
Articles
Prithvi Dixit, a second-year medical student at Imperial and Dr David Salman, physical activity topic lead have authored an informative opinion piece on the importance of physical activity for the British Journal of General Practice:
Dixit, P. and Salman, D., 2021. Physical activity: is timing everything? | BJGP Life.
Available at: https://bjgplife.com/2021/01/07/physical-activity-is-timing-everything/
Student Shapers
Sihan Chen, Year 5 Medical Student
As a student shaper for LMAP, I aided in the design of an E-module on financial insecurity and its associated health burdens. This involved writing content to achieve set learning objectives, followed by mapping out modes of content delivery that would maximise student engagement. Overall, this was an amazing learning opportunity. I felt motivated knowing that my work would be implemented into the course. My supervisors were extremely supportive, they gave me a great amount of freedom over innovation and time management. The trust my team had given me helped me become a more responsible and effective team player.
LMAP was not formally taught in my early medical school years so frankly, my knowledge of lifestyle medicine was quite limited. Through researching my chosen E-module topic, it quickly became apparent that lifestyle factors hold great impact over the physical and psychological health of patients. I understood the role that lifestyle medicine plays in disease management and prevention by empowering patients to adopt healthier lifestyle choices. The LMAP course has been designed to also help medical students appreciate why patients may follow lifestyles that lead to adverse health outcomes. I believe this will shape them into more empathetic doctors.
Natasha Patel, Year 5 Medical Student
As a student shaper, my role in developing the LMAP course was to create interactive online learning content on alcohol consumption for first year medical students to complete as part of the module’s flipped classroom approach. This allowed me to develop my creative side by reflecting on how I would have liked to have learnt from online material in first year. The learning content involved calculating units of alcohol consumption for an individual in a social setting and has helped me to adopt a different perception to lifestyle medicine. For my future practice, I will aim to offer more tailored advice to patients rather than, for example, a blanket statement of telling them they need to cut down on alcohol. I have truly appreciated the importance of exploring a patient’s lifestyle in depth to ensure joint goals are created and to offer personalised tips to help them achieve this.
LMAP Society
We are in the process of establishing a brand-new Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention student society at Imperial College London. This society will aim to increase awareness of lifestyle medicine and promote opportunities for learning for all medical students, focusing on prioritising positive lifestyle behaviours within the wider student body.