The FM community is mostly formed of medical doctors, whether primary care physicians or hospital specialists of all kinds. Other FM practitioners include dietitians, nutritional therapists, health coaches, osteopaths and other allied medical professions.
The FM model requires a multidisciplinary approach and often will see doctors holistically working alongside dietitians, nutritional therapists, health coaches and other healthcare professionals.
Functional Medicine is endorsed by some of the finest specialists in the world. Amongst these, to name but a few in the USA, Professor Bredesen, Consultant Neurologist, pioneer researcher in Alzheimer’s Disease, who has worked alongside Nobel Prize winner Dr Stanley Prusiner, Dr Alessio Fasano, one of the leading specialist gastroenterologists in the USA, and an internationally acclaimed expert in Coeliac Disease.
FM certification requires an initial attendance at the foundation course, the AFMCP (Applied Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice), followed by the completion of six advanced modules, a written paper and a case presentation. The Faculty of Functional Medicine is accredited for CME by the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). ACCME recently commended the Institute of Functional Medicine for going above and beyond what’s required to reach the standard of excellence. This achievement recognizes IFM as an agent of change that provides relevant, practical, targeted medical education
Applicants must have medical background either as medical doctors or as accredited allied medical professionals.
Applied Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice (AFMCP) is also now available in London every two years, or as an online course annually. There are FM forums held every few weeks around the country.
Academia and research
In the US a total of 71 academic medicine, nutrition, and residency programmes have participated in the Institute of Functional Medicine’s (IFM) education courses, including leading institutions such as Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale. Of these, 18 are introducing Functional Medicine into their curriculum. Find out more
The Institute of Functional Medicine has teamed up with the Cleveland Clinic, the prestigious academic medical centre in Ohio, to provide Functional Medicine Service. Find out more
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