Integration of an Innovative Virtual Culinary Medicine Curriculum into Undergraduate Clinical Medical Education

Touro University California's College of Osteopathic Medicine has developed an integrated culinary medicine curriculum designed to equip future physicians with robust medical nutrition knowledge and practical food-based skills. The curriculum delivers more than 40 hours of required nutrition education distributed across the four years of undergraduate medical training, exceeding federal benchmarks. Instruction combines online modules with five summative culinary medicine events during the pre-clinical years and reinforcement of nutrition competencies during clinical rotations, where students apply counseling, screening, and whole-person nutrition principles across diverse clinical settings.

The program emphasizes experiential learning through dynamic, interactive sessions paired with hands-on cooking labs that translate nutrition science into clinical application. Key curricular content spans macronutrients, food safety and sanitation, weight management, cardiovascular and renal nutrition topics, neurocognition and eating disorders, gastrointestinal and endocrine nutrition issues, pediatric and pregnancy nutrition, food allergy and intolerance, HIV nutrition, and geriatric nutrition. Students are also exposed to community nutrition topics such as SNAP/WIC programs, food banks, and addressing food insecurity. Clinical-year training emphasizes dietary and risk screening, nutrition counseling, food-based strategies for prevention and chronic disease management, interprofessional collaboration, and connecting patients to resources and support.

The curriculum is anchored to recognized competency frameworks, aligning with ACGME foundational competencies, undergraduate medical education nutrition competencies, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Medical Education Nutrition Competency Framework. Specific competency domains include evidence-based nutrition counseling, food insecurity screening and referral, practical culinary skills for clinical application, behavior change and communication, whole-person care, and interprofessional collaboration. These competencies guide curricular sequencing from foundational knowledge in integrated systems courses to advanced clinical application during core rotations.

Faculty champions Dr. Grace Marie Jones, PhD, and Dr. Traci Stevenson, DO, lead the culinary medicine initiative, integrating nutrition science and hands-on culinary teaching to inspire learners and advance patient-centered, food-based care. The program benefits from community and operational partnerships; special acknowledgments note contributions from local culinary and community partners. Student involvement extends beyond the classroom through community outreach projects and partnerships that address food insecurity and promote healthy eating, including a Mobile Diabetes Education Center, Student Run Free Clinic, and street medicine initiatives. These experiential opportunities reinforce clinical competencies while contributing to community health.

Looking ahead, the College plans to expand required medical nutrition education hours in the clinical years beginning in 2026-2027, adding instruction above and beyond existing nutrition objectives embedded in core rotations. This planned expansion reflects a sustained institutional commitment to strengthening the role of nutrition in medical education and preparing future osteopathic physicians to integrate food-based strategies into prevention and chronic disease management. By combining didactic content, hands-on culinary labs, competency alignment, faculty leadership, and community engagement, Touro's culinary medicine curriculum seeks to produce clinicians who are competent in nutrition counseling, attuned to social determinants of health, and capable of translating culinary skills into improved patient care and community outcomes.