Lifestyle Medicine Talk Emphasizes Proper Nutrition, Exercise, and Compassionate Conversations

The campus organizations American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) and the Sports Medicine Club collaborated to host a lifestyle medicine talk, to contribute to the continuous, supplemental education of future patient-centered, compassionate healthcare professionals. Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) alumnus Michael Ladewski, D.O., (CCOM ’05), visited his alma mater to provide insight into lifestyle medicine for aspiring medical professionals. Lifestyle medicine is centered upon evidence-based methods of incorporating changes to a patient’s lifestyle including a diet of whole food and plants, enough hours of sleep, managing stress, regular exercise, socialization, and stepping away from risky substances.

Dr. Ladewski highlighted that these aspects of lifestyle medicine “are all important synergistically together.” He also discussed that helping to change a patient’s lifestyle also involves collaboration with other healthcare professionals such as nutritionists and physical therapists. 

“It’s nice to learn more about lifestyle medicine and how significant it is to the patients along with the importance of exercise and diet, quitting smoking, and all that is part of their general well-being and comorbidities (a patient with two or more health conditions). It adds greater context to the didactic courses. You also learn from actively listening to the doctors who are in the clinic every day, so you know what you’re going to face in the future,” said medical student and the ACOFP treasurer Marwa Sahloul (CCOM ’27). 

Dr. Ladewski also shared the importance of doctors having tough conversations with their patients while simultaneously considering that their feelings might be delicate, especially for patients who are overweight or obese. “I usually tell them that their weight is not healthy, and I want to try to help them become healthier,” he said, adding that these difficult conversations also apply to other topics including unhealthy blood pressure and smoking. He emphasized that these conversations about unhealthy habits should focus on the facts and are not to shame the patient but to help them adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Medical student Drashti Sikligar (CCOM ’28), a member of the ACOFP, discussed the value of Dr. Ladewski’s insights about how to talk to patients who might be overweight or obese, and working on a plan with them. “I like the point about stating the facts. It’s difficult to go about having a conversation regarding hard topics.” 

Marwa added, “We learned to formulate our advice in a way where the patients feel comfortable and not offended. There is a fine line on how to talk to patients about the subject.”

Dr. Ladewski emphasized, “Certain people change their behaviors long enough, whether it’s your diet or exercise, and it’s consistent enough to form a new habit. Those are the people who are successful.”

The medical students also appreciated hearing more about applying for fellowships in lifestyle medicine. Opportunities like this allow them to receive advice from successful healthcare professionals, especially alumni with similar experiences, which helps them with the decisions they make along their healthcare career journeys.

“Attending different talks gives us the opportunity to learn more about each specialty and hear about positions and personal experiences,” said medical student and member of the ACOFP Spencer Mackovitch (CCOM ’28). 

“It’s good to hear from different specialties about what they do, and how we get to that path. We learn about different things to expect on our journey,” Marwa added. 

Midwestern University consistently offers additional educational opportunities, such as the lifestyle medicine talk, for students across various healthcare fields of study to prepare them to become future doctors and other professionals.