Seventy-three medical schools have signed the Trump administration’s Nutrition Education Pledge to incorporate 40 hours of nutrition education or its competency equivalent into graduation requirements starting this fall.
The pledge is part of an HHS push to make nutrition education a central part of medical training. Medical students reported receiving an average of just 1.2 hours of formal nutrition education each year, a 2022 Journal of Wellness survey found. About three-fourths of U.S. medical schools did not require clinical nutrition courses, and only 14% of residency programs required a nutrition curriculum.
“The lack of nutrition training in medical schools is a decades-old problem, first identified by the American Medical Association in the 1960s,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a June 8 news conference. “We are training future physicians to address the root causes of disease — not simply manage their consequences.”
The pledged schools will receive federal funding to support their work and will have full control over the curriculum, Mr. Kennedy said. Schools that do not meet the 40-hour benchmark will not be penalized, he said.
Here are the 73 schools that will launch nutrition education programs this fall.
Alabama
- Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (Dothan)
- University of Alabama-Birmingham
- University of South Alabama Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine (Mobile)
Arizona
- University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
- University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
Arkansas
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine (Little Rock)
California
- California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Clovis)
- Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Vallejo)
- University of California, Irvine
- Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and COMP-Northwest (Pomona, Calif./Lebanon, Ore.)
District of Columbia
- George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Florida
- Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine (Boca Raton)
- Florida State University College of Medicine (Tallahassee)
- Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine (Winter Garden)
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine (Orlando)
- University of Florida College of Medicine (Gainesville)
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
- University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine (Tampa)
Georgia
- The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Indiana
- Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis)
- Purdue University (West Lafayette)
Iowa
- University of Iowa (Iowa City)
Kentucky
- University of Kentucky College of Medicine (Lexington)
Louisiana
- Louisiana State University Health New Orleans
- Louisiana State University Health Shreveport
- Tulane University School of Medicine (New Orleans)
- Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine (New Orleans)
Maine
- University of New England School of Osteopathic Medicine (Biddeford)
Maryland
- Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine (Hagerstown)
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda)
- University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore)
Massachusetts
- Tufts University School of Medicine (Boston)
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (Worcester)
Michigan
- Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (Rochester)
- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (Kalamazoo)
Mississippi
- University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson)
- William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Hattiesburg)
Missouri
- Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine
- St. Louis University School of Medicine
- University of Missouri School of Medicine (Columbia)
- University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine
Nebraska
- University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine (Omaha)
New Hampshire
- Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth (Hanover)
New Jersey
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (Camden)
New Mexico
- Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (Las Cruces)
New York
- Hofstra University Zucker School of Medicine (Hempstead)
- New York University Grossman Long Island School of Medicine (Mineola)
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine
North Dakota
- University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences (Grand Forks)
Ohio
- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Osher Center for Integrative Health
Oklahoma
- University of Oklahoma College of Medicine (Oklahoma City)
Pennsylvania
- Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Scranton)
- Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Philadelphia)
South Carolina
- University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
South Dakota
- University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (Vermillion)
Tennessee
- Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (Harrogate)
- University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center (Memphis)
Texas
- Sam Houston State University (Conroe)
- Texas A&M College of Medicine (Bryan)
- Texas Tech Health El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine (Lubbock)
- University of Texas Health Houston McGovern Medical School
- University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston)
- University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine (Dallas)
- University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (San Antonio)
Utah
- Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine (Provo)
- University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine (Salt Lake City)
Virginia
- Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Blacksburg)
West Virginia
- West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (Lewisburg)
- West Virginia University School of Medicine (Morgantown)
Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (Madison)
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.