MCLIN 450 - CULINARY MEDICINE ELECTIVE

[152 Hours]

Physicians are life-long learners. In addition to learning about medicine and disease processes, it is important to begin understanding how diet and lifestyle modifications can affect these lifelong diseases. The role of future physicians to not only educate their patients but join in the lifestyle modifications themselves opens the door for culinary medicine. This elective will allow students to be introduced to the field of culinary medicine, as well as begin the development of their own set of basic culinary skills. The students will participate in activities aimed at implementing culinary techniques and nutritional management of long term diseases. As the students gain a better understanding of the barriers to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and learn effective patient counseling strategies, they will be better prepared to implement these expertise starting their first day of internship. The course will be offered in Block 1 only. Attendance at various types of educational events will be required over the four week course, but there will also be periods of independent study. A variety of teaching and learning methods will be employed and students will be required to do some class preparation in advance. Classroom activities will include: lectures, group discussion and activities, patient case studies, online modules and hands on cooking. The course will be taught by faculty members at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University. Activities have been approved by faculty members in the Undergraduate Medical Education office at LSU School of Medicine. Participants will use the strategies learned throughout this course to create a patient education document that focuses on one disease process and how diet and lifestyle modifications affect this disease.