Development and Implementation of a Holistic Health Curriculum for Uniformed Services University Medical Students

Due to the need to meet national accreditation standards, there is currently limited time and resources in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) medical student curriculum to teach about holistic health, human performance optimization (HPO), and injury prevention (IP). In the military, where preventable MSKI is the number one deployment-limiting condition, the limited focus on HPO and IP has far reached consequences. For example, upon graduation, many of the USU medical students go on to serve in operational units where MSKI risk factors abound. The military has found that using the traditional medical model approach to managing MSKIs is suboptimal. Within the past decade, several alternative models/systems have been developed in an attempt to prevent injuries and optimize human performance. These models/systems are being implemented in select operational units with plans to expand to more units each fiscal year. As this expansion continues, and in order for a complete cultural shift to occur, it is imperative that USU curriculum shifts in parallel to include education and training in HPO/IP.

It is also important to remember that military medical students are themselves service members, who are not immune to MSKI and come with their own set of MSKI risk factors. While they do not have daily physical training sessions, they are expected to meet physical fitness standards and often cite a lack the time and resources (i.e., a structured training program/plan) to do so safely and effectively. This can place them at risk of failing their physical fitness test and/or sustaining an injury during their train-up or during the actual test. In addition, stress and anxiety over performance (physical and academic) among medical students at USU is not uncommon, due to the unique demands of being a service member in addition to the demands of being a medical student (e.g., completing myriad mandatory military trainings and administrative requirements).

For these reasons, we propose an immersive curriculum aimed at teaching military medical students about HPO and IP through didactic lecture, as well as through the opportunity to personally experience and benefit from HPO/IP services.
USU produces 25% of the Military’s active-duty doctors and is home to over 1,200 health sciences students at any given time. Upon graduation, many of these providers are assigned to operational units serving hundreds or thousands of service members who are also in need of HPO/IP. While some of these units may already have performance teams (e.g., Army units with Holistic Health and Fitness teams, Air Force training wings), many do not and would benefit from providers with a foundational understanding of holistic health.