WCM-Q certificate in lifestyle medicine attracts participants from across the world

More than 60 healthcare professionals from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Cameroon, Croatia, the United Kingdom, and Canada attended this year’s Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine (CLM) program. The course was organized by the Institute for Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).

The CLM is a 60-hour certificate program that equips healthcare practitioners with the education and competencies to aid in the evaluation, prevention, and management of lifestyle-related chronic health conditions. The program emphasizes evidence-based practices focused on lifestyle-related interventions, including regular physical activity, healthy nutrition, adequate sleep, tobacco cessation, stress management, and social connections. Additionally, the course enables healthcare practitioners to improve overall quality of life and patient outcomes by engaging in meaningful discussions with patients about the potential of lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, WCM-Q professor of population health sciences and vice dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, and professor of medicine at the Center for Global Health, said: “Integrating lifestyle medicine practices into mainstream healthcare is essential for advancing the quality and effectiveness of care. The course’s eighth offering reflects a rising urgency to integrate evidence-based lifestyle medicine into healthcare delivery.”

The CLM program featured a selection of local and international experts, including Dr. Mamtani; Dr. Sohaila Cheema, associate professor of clinical population health sciences and assistant dean for IPH; Dr. Amit Abraham, assistant professor of clinical population health sciences and assistant director of IPH; Ms. Sarah Burshan, psychologist/learning support specialist and wellness counselor at WCM-Q; Dr. Ahmad Al Mulla, senior consultant of public health and disease control, and director of the Tobacco Control Center at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC); and Dr. Shahrad Taheri, professor of medicine at WCM-Q and senior consultant in diabetes and endocrinology at the National Obesity Treatment Centre at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

They were joined by Dr. Wayne Dysinger, past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, founding chair of the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine, and chief medical officer of Blue Zones Health; Mr. Stephan Herzog, executive director of the American and International Boards of Lifestyle Medicine; Dr. Liana Lianov, president and founder of the Global Positive Health Institute, and assistant professor of the Center for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medical and Health Sciences; and  Dr. Benjamin Kligler, executive director of the Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation for the Veterans Health Administration, and professor of family and community medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine from the U.S.; and  Mr. Simon Mathews, adjunct lecturer at the Lifestyle Medicine and Health Research Centre, Avondale University and lead coach and faculty for the Wellcoaches® School of Health Coaching from Australia.

Dr. Cheema said: “This year’s program featured an impressive lineup of experts who provided participants with world-class insights and practical strategies to integrate lifestyle medicine in medical practice. We are also proud that the program reached full capacity, a clear sign of the high demand for, and growing recognition of lifestyle medicine as an essential component of healthcare.”

The Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine is accredited in Qatar by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Healthcare Professions – Accreditation Section and internationally by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).