At Johns Hopkins, our obesity medicine faculty includes several clinician-educators who focus on providing world-class education and training in obesity medicine for medical students, physicians and other healthcare professionals. Research has demonstrated a paucity of medical education programs that focus on obesity and the treatment of this complex chronic disease, which contributes to care gaps for patients. The Johns Hopkins Obesity Medicine Education Team addresses this issue through innovative training programs.
Undergraduate Medical Education – Medical Students
Topics in Interdisciplinary Medicine (TIME) – Nutrition & Health Behavior Change
During the first year of their curriculum, all Johns Hopkins medical students participate in this intensive, three-day course on Nutrition & Health Behavior Change. Directed by our Obesity Medicine faculty – Drs. Zoobia Chaudhry and Marci Laudenslager, this course provides every student foundational knowledge regarding how lifestyle can prevent and treat disease.
Students participate in lectures, small group sessions led by Obesity Medicine physicians, dietitians and psychologists, as well as invited patient speakers. The course content is reviewed annually and updated to ensure alignment with the state of the science.
Graduate Medical Education - Residents
Obesity Medicine for Primary Care Curriculum
Developed by our Obesity Medicine faculty, this innovative curriculum combines e-lectures and case discussions that address key topics in obesity care relevant to primary care.
Uniquely, learners also receive electronic health record tools developed by our faculty to facilitate obesity treatment into their primary care practices. Topics covered in this curriculum include:
- 5As behavior change counseling framework
- Lifestyle changes for weight reduction
- Pharmacologic management, including weight-gain-promoting medications and anti-obesity medications
- Care for patients before and after bariatric and metabolic surgery
Learners complete this self-paced curriculum remotely, which is available to all Internal Medicine residents at Johns Hopkins. Led by Dr. Laudenslager, this curriculum is reviewed annually by our team and updated to reflect the current state of clinical practice.
Obesity Medicine Clinical Elective
This 2-week elective introduces physicians-in-training to the field of Obesity Medicine. All learners have protected time to complete the Obesity Medicine for Primary Care Curriculum, which is enhanced with clinical experiences that include:
- Outpatient Obesity Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program, including lifestyle and pharmacologic treatments
- Virtual group visits
- Observations with nutrition and psychology in the care of patients with obesity
- Outpatient care for patients before and after endobariatric procedures
- Outpatient and inpatient care for patients before and after metabolic and bariatric surgery
This elective is available to all Internal Medicine residents and Gastroenterology/Hepatology fellows at Johns Hopkins, and it is a required rotation for Johns Hopkins Endocrinology fellows. Upon request, the elective is also open to internal medicine and family medicine residents outside of Johns Hopkins – interested candidates should contact Dr. Laudenslager.
Longitudinal Obesity Medicine Clinical Rotation
This 3- to 6-month rotation immerses Johns Hopkins Preventive Medicine residents in Obesity Medicine. Residents work with Obesity Medicine physicians at the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program in the care of patients with obesity and other chronic conditions. Learners also have protected time to complete the Obesity Medicine for Primary Care Curriculum. Dr. Selvi Rajagopal coordinates this rotation.
Physician Education and Assessment Center (PEAC) Obesity Module
Dr. Chaudhry leads the Obesity Medicine team who updates and maintains an online obesity module, which is included within the PEAC Internal Medicine Ambulatory Care Curriculum. Internal Medicine residency programs around the country use PEAC as part of their educational portfolios, and PEAC is also available to individual physicians worldwide.
Graduate Medical Education - Fellows
Obesity Medicine Fellowship
The Johns Hopkins Obesity Medicine fellowship program is one of the nation’s premiere advanced training programs in Obesity Medicine. The fellowship includes clinical experiences at different facilities and clinical settings. The program is directed by Dr. Rajagopal, and additional details about the fellowship can be found on the fellowship website.
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