ISC: The Skinny on Obesity - What Every Physician Should Know

School of Medicine

Rates of obesity are rising all around the world and, as physicians we confront it daily regardless of our specialty. Whether clinicians or surgeons, general practitioners or specialists, pediatricians or internists, researchers, educators, administrators, public health professionals and even in our own families and circles of friends, the issue of obesity will be a near daily encounter. For most of us, obesity management will not be the primary focus of our job, but we can still play a key role in the prevention and care of unhealthy weight and its comorbidities. This course is designed for 3rd and 4th year medical students in an immersion format, combining mentored clinical experiences with additional organized learning opportunities. It is four weeks in length, offered at 6 points during the academic year, and incorporates up to four students in each offering. In this course students will have the opportunity to prepare for how they can effectively address obesity in their anticipated area of practice. They will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of interdisciplinary patient care settings, which range from general to subspecialty, from medical to surgical, and from clinical to research. Through these clinical experiences and additional learning activities, students reinforce their knowledge of this disease, build skills in its management, and contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity.