Medical Students Focus on Prevention with AIM-HI

Medical students tend to get excited about cutting-edge medical treatments, but Anthony Beutler, MD, wants to make sure his students' primary focus stays on disease prevention. For the past three years, Dr. Beutler, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and chief of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Injury Prevention Research Laboratory, has spearheaded a preventive medicine module for second year medical students. The module, which recently expanded from one hour to four, teaches students to use AIM-HI materials to help patients increase their physical activity levels.

The class begins with an interactive lecture, where Dr. Beutler and his family medicine colleagues explain how physical activity affects the health of different populations of patients, including children, pregnant women and seniors. The students then set up a simulated clinic, equipped with materials from the AIM-HI toolkit. They practice calculating BMIs and writing fitness prescriptions for a variety of “patients.”

Dr. Beutler, who is a member of the AIM-HI Advisory Panel, says the class teaches students why it’s important to talk to patients about ways to improve their overall health. It also brings an understanding that “family physicians are who people go to to improve their health.” He feels it’s important that medical students see that AAFP is leading the way when it comes to fitness.

Beutler says the students appreciate the opportunity to work with tangible tools. “It drives home the message ‘I am going to be a doctor, and these are good tools for me to use.’” And the students give the class high marks. The AIM-HI module has received the highest marks of any preventive medicine exercise for the past three years.