MEDU-4167 - Comprehensive Obesity Medicine Elective

MEDU-4167 - Comprehensive Obesity Medicine Elective

Elective Title: Comprehensive Obesity Medicine Elective
Course Number: MEDU-4167
Elective Type: clinical Duration/Weeks: 4 Max Enrollment: 2
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Year 3
Additional Requirements: C-form is required, email Victoria Garcia (vrgarcia@utmb.edu)
Responsible Faculty Director: Randa Abdelmasih Periods Offered: 1-13 including holiday period 8 
Coordinator: Victoria Garcia Other Faculty:
Location to Report on First Day:
UTMB Weight Management Clinic, League City Campus 2240 Gulf Fwy S Suite 2.402E, League City, TX 77573

Goals
1. Provide students with a strong clinical foundation in obesity medicine across outpatient and interdisciplinary care settings.
2. Enhance students’ ability to manage obesity as a chronic disease using patient-centered, evidence-based approaches.
3. Expose students to multidisciplinary obesity care models, including nutrition, behavioral health, endocrinology, and bariatric surgery.

Objectives
By the end of the elective, the student will be able to:
1. Explain the pathophysiology of obesity and its metabolic, cardiovascular, and behavioral complications using evidence-based principles.
2. Perform comprehensive obesity-focused clinical assessments, including evaluation of comorbidities and readiness for treatment.
3. Develop individualized obesity management plans incorporating lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, and referral for bariatric procedures when appropriate.
4. Apply current clinical guidelines (e.g., AACE, Endocrine Society, Obesity Medicine Association) to real-world patient care.
5. Demonstrate effective, empathetic, and bias-aware communication when counseling patients with obesity.

Description of course activities
This 4th-year medical student elective in Obesity Medicine, offered through the Division of Endocrinology and based at the UTMB Weight Management Clinic in League City, addresses a critical gap in undergraduate medical education by providing structured, comprehensive training in the assessment, prevention, and management of overweight and obesity. Obesity is a highly prevalent chronic disease affecting over 42% of U.S. adults, despite this widespread burden, dedicated clinical training in obesity management remains limited in most medical school curricula. During this elective, students will:1) Gain hands-on clinical experience in the evaluation and treatment of patients with obesity and related metabolic comorbidities.2) Participate in multidisciplinary care with endocrinologists, registered dietitians, behavioral health specialists, and bariatric surgeons.3) Engage in evidence-based learning through guideline-directed discussions, case-based teaching, and literature review.4) Develop skills to recognize and mitigate weight stigma while employing patient-centered communication strategies.
By the end of the elective, students will have strengthened their clinical acumen and built competency in lifestyle interventions, pharmacologic therapy, and surgical management of obesity. This initiative aligns with UTMB’s mission to train compassionate, evidence-based, and prevention-focused physicians while advancing community health and creating stigma-free patient engagement.

Monday: (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Medical Weight Management Clinic (endocrinologists)) (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Social services session (patient resources, insurance navigation, community programs))
Tuesday: (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Medical Weight Management Clinic (endocrinologists)) (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Nutrition therapy clinic)
Wednesday: (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Medical Weight Management Clinic (endocrinologists)) (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Bariatric surgery clinic or post-op follow-up)
Thursday: (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Didactic session (lectures, guideline review, case discussions)) (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Bariatric surgery clinic or OR)
Friday: (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Bariatric surgery clinic) (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Nutrition therapy clinic and/or student case preparation, didactic session, or journal club (once per rotation))

Type of students who would benefit from the course
Any student interested in how environmental factors such as climate, food and water quality, and toxicologic exposures affect the health of their patients.

    Weekly Schedule
          Estimated Course Activities (Start-Time/Finish-Time):
Day of Week   AM   PM
Monday 8:00am-12:00pm 1:00pm-5:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am-12:00pm 1:00pm-5:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am-12:00pm 1:00pm-5:00pm
Thursday 8:00am-12:00pm 1:00pm-5:00pm
Friday 8:00am-12:00pm 1:00pm-5:00pm
Saturday
Sunday

 Average number of patients seen per week: 15-20
 Call Schedule: None

Research / Other Course Activities
(estimated schedule)
Activity Hours per Week
Faculty Contact-Time
Self-Directed Study
Data-Collection/Analysis
Other


Method of Student Evaluation
1.  Clinical Observation
  A. Where are students observed on this elective?
    Inpatient Service   Ambulatory   Surgery   Standardized patients
Patients simulators   Other
  B. Frequency - How often are students observed clinically?
    Daily observation and end-of-rotation assessment
  C. Format - What method(s) are used to document the student's clinical performance?
    Daily oral feedback   End of period oral feedback   Written feedback
Other

2.  Oral Presentation
  A. Audience - To whom does the student present?
    Faculty, and multidisciplinary team
  B. Frequency / Duration of Presentation(s)?
    One per rotation 15-30 minutes
  C. Format - What guidelines are set for the student's presentation?
    Students are expected to prepare a concise, evidence-based case presentation or mini-lecture integrating current obesity medicine guidelines and recent literature. Presentations should include a brief clinical summary, diagnostic and therapeutic considerations, and a discussion of relevant studies or algorithms (AACE, Endocrine Society, OMA)
  D. Assessment - Who assesses the student's presentation performance?
    Self-assessment   Peer assessment   Faculty assessment
  E. Method of content selection
    Current cases  Student-selected topic   Assigned topic

3.  Written Assignment (H&P's, notes, papers, abstracts, etc.)
  A. Frequency of written assignment(s)?
    Students are expected to document daily progress notes or brief clinic encounter summaries during patient care activities. In addition, students will have the opportunity to contribute to ongoing data collection or manuscript preparation related to active research and quality improvement projects in obesity medicine, under direct faculty supervision
  B. Format - What guidelines are set for the student's written work?
    Students use a structured obesity medicine note documenting focused H&P, weight trends, comorbidities, treatment plan, and follow-up under faculty supervision. Obesity Medicine Questionnaire: Standardized intake and follow-up form capturing weight history, lifestyle habits, comorbidities, and treatment goals to guide clinic encounters. Write-Up Guidelines: Students will be guided through integrating guideline-based management and 3 recent references.
  C. Length of written assignment(s)?
    Abstract   Annotated bibliography   1 - 2 page paper   3+ page paper
  D. Are recent references required?   No    If yes, how are they selected?
    current references from major guidelines or recent peer-reviewed literature (≤ 5 years) are required.
  E. Method of content selection - e.g. student-selected, relate to cases, etc.?
    Topics may be student-selected based on clinic cases or chosen in coordination with faculty from ongoing obesity medicine or metabolic research initiatives
  F. Audience - Who assesses the student's written performance?
    Peer Assessment     Faculty Assessment     Other

4.  Examination
  Format
    Oral   Written multiple choice   Written essay / short answer   OSCE
Other

5.  Extra Course Activities
  What expectations do you have for the student to demonstrate participation in the elective (e.g. small group activities, seminars, thoughtful questions, providing resources, journal club, resident lecture attendance)?
    Active engagement in journal club focused on obesity medicine and weight management literature.

6.  Additional Costs
  Please list any additional costs and/or purchases (books, materials, movies to watch, etc.) that are required for this course. Include an estimated total cost. If there are no additional costs, please enter "None".
    None

7.  Other Modes of Evaluation
  Please explain below.
    Faculty will assess professionalism, teamwork, and communication throughout the elective.

8.  If this course is an Acting Internship, please complete the following:
  A. Objectives for the AI should relate directly to the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Each AI should describe how the four key Year-4 EPAs that our school has identified as being Year-4 skills are assessed. The Year-4 objectives are:
1. Entering and discussing orders/prescriptions.
2. Give or receive patient handover to transition care responsibility.
3. Recognizing a patient requiring urgent or emergent care and initiating management.
4. Obtaining informed consent for tests and procedures.
Specify how the student will be given formative feedback on their clinical skills.
   
 
B.
Year-4 students should demonstrate mastery of EPAs they developed in the clerkship year, including recommending and interpreting common diagnostic and screening tests, and performing general procedures of a physician. They should be able to demonstrate masterfully and independently skills they mastered in Years 2-3, including efficiently performing comprehensive admission-notes and succinct daily progress notes and perform accurate, concise, and hypothesis-driven clinical presentations, form clinical questions and retrieve evidence to advance patient care. They should be able to demonstrate basic understanding of and beginning mastery of collaborate as a member of the interprofessional team and identify system failures and contribute to a culture of safety improvement.

List advanced clinical skills that a student will be assured an opportunity to practice.
   
 
C.
How specifically will this AI build on developing skills from the clerkship year to prepare students for internship?
   
 
D.
What opportunities will typically be available to all students who take this AI (procedures, required presentations, etc.)? What opportunities may be available based on patient load/presentation or student initiative (ie. Writing a case report)?
   
 
E.
An AI should have expectation of a minimum of 32 hours per week of clinical responsibilities. Duty hours should be capped at ACGME limits for an intern, thus up to 24 hours followed by 4 hours of activities related to patient safety, education, and handoff. Students cannot work more than 80 hours per week averaged over 4 weeks. They can only have 1 day off in a 7-day work week with 8 hours off between shifts.

Clinical responsibilities will vary depending on specialty, but how is the student functioning with work commensurate to a PGY1 with an appropriate level of training?
   
 
F.
How is the student demonstrating drawing clinical conclusions and/or developing a management plan and documentation as an intern would do?
   
 
G.
How and by whom will midpoint feedback be provided to the student? How will you remediate deficiencies identified at midpoint?
   
 
H.
Acting Internship students often seek letters of recommendation following their experience. How many different Faculty will work directly with the student and have knowledge of the student's abilities to detail in a written evaluation? Describe the degree of supervision and interaction with faculty vs. residents or other providers and how feedback will be obtained if more direct work is with residents or other providers.