A Health Promotion Program for Medical Students: Louisiana State University Medical Center

Abstract

A health promotion program for medical students at Louisiana State University Medical Center (LSUMC) in New Orleans encourages students to take responsibility for their own physical and psychological health and well-being, enabling them to better cope with the stressors of medical education and those of later clinical practice. Administrative support for developing the program was considerable, and a broad-based Health Promotion Committee, comprising faculty, administrators, and students, was established to oversee the program. The program's cost was minimal, inasmuch as most components were offered voluntarily by full-time faculty. The most consistent funding came from the LSUMC Student Health fee, although grants and pharmaceutical companies also provided support. A full day of orientation was devoted to the program. The students completed a thorough lifestyle and nutrition assessment and used the results to help decide which component to sign up for: aerobics, relaxation/meditation, support groups, time management, and nutrition. Participation was voluntary, and aerobics and relaxation/meditation were the best attended. Overall, the students responded favorably to the orientation day and found the components valuable and useful. Students reported improvements on eight of 11 wellness dimensions and a composite score from a lifestyle assessment questionnaire over the one-year longitudinal study. These gains may in part be attributable to the program. The nutrition findings suggest entering medical students do not have better dietary practices than comparable young adults living in the United States. Students most often requested information on these topics: relaxation/stress reduction, exercise programs, time-management skills, nutrition, and learning skills. Offering individualized and diverse programs to students is important. A major challenge has been to motivate students to participate, and means are recommended for improving participation. Program evaluation is essential; therefore, problems in this area are discussed. Also, including physical and biochemical measures is desirable. We believe incorporating the principles of health promotion and disease prevention throughout the medical education curriculum is essential. Medical students taking responsibility for their own health are more likely to promote this self-responsibility with their patients in clinical practice.