When Cortney Davis, DMSc, PA-C, earned her degree from University of Bridgeport in 2015, the Physician Assistant Institute (PAI) was still in its early years. What began as the foundation of her clinical career inspired a passion for holistic, patient-centered care — one that would ultimately come full circle nearly a decade later, when Davis returned to UB as a faculty member.
“As a student, I was exposed to integrative medicine through the curriculum,” Davis reflected. “It’s probably what sparked my interest in that. Then, it just carried over into my career.”
Today, as an assistant professor at UB PAI, Davis plays a key role in enriching and expanding the curriculum to emphasize the growing presence of lifestyle medicine in the healthcare landscape. Her efforts — and the collective work of the PAI faculty — recently helped the program earn one of its most prestigious distinctions to date: designation as an ACLM Partial Academic Pathway Program.
This recognition not only reflects the values that guide PAI but also positions students to meet the evolving needs of patients and the healthcare system — preparing them to provide the highest caliber of care as they enter practice.
What is lifestyle medicine?
As the healthcare system shifts — and faces critical practitioner shortages — lifestyle medicine offers a sustainable, cost-effective, and proactive solution focused on educating patients to improve health outcomes.
“Lifestyle medicine as a whole is an evidence-based approach to healthcare,” Davis explained. “It focuses on disease prevention, treatment, and in some cases, even reversal of chronic diseases through lifestyle interventions.”
Those interventions are built around six core pillars: nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, avoidance of risky substances, stress management, and positive social connections.
The benefit of these pillars doesn’t simply lie in defining the lifestyle factors that can shape a patient’s health. “Lifestyle medicine empowers both the patient and the clinician by providing sustainable behavior changes that optimize not only the patient’s health outcomes, but also their quality of life.”
Understanding the ACLM Partial Academic Pathway designation
The premier leader in lifestyle medicine education is the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). For more than 20 years, ACLM has been at the forefront of advancing lifestyle medicine as an evidence-based field — educating and certifying healthcare professionals, advocating for broader adoption of lifestyle-focused care, supporting clinical communities, and advancing research.
As a newly designated ACLM Partial Academic Pathway Program, the PAI offers students a unique opportunity to begin their journey toward lifestyle medicine certification while still in training. While the PA program curriculum has always incorporated integrative care, adding a specialized lifestyle medicine course has formalized its presence and carved a clear pathway for students to pursue ACLM certification after graduation.
“Following graduation, students can pursue additional postgraduate training by completing one additional lifestyle medicine course and sitting for the certification exam, both of which are offered through ACLM.”
The advantage this provides for PA students is significant. “PAs in training might not even have known ACLM certification was an option,” Davis said. “This helps them get halfway there.”
Advancing PA education for better patient care
Beyond expanding the breadth of knowledge and skills students acquire, the ACLM Partial Academic Pathway designation reinforces UB PAI’s reputation as a leading destination for aspiring PAs. UB is among the first institutions in the country to receive this designation for a PA program — underscoring its commitment to innovation and forward-thinking education.
It also parallels seamlessly with the essential principles of PAI. “Lifelong learning is part of our mission,” Davis said. “This aligns with that very well, because it encourages postgraduate education and certification.”
Equally important is its complementary and intrinsic connection to patient-centered care — another focal point of PAI’s mission. “Lifestyle medicine helps practitioners incorporate patient care strategies like behavior modifications that are responsive to individual patients,” she added. “It gives you a little more breadth in terms of how you can provide dedicated patient-centered care.”
This approach is particularly relevant for newly minted PAs entering a challenging healthcare landscape. “Chronic diseases are on the rise — we see an increase every year,” Davis said. “This includes conditions like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and other illnesses that lifestyle changes can impact.”
At the same time, healthcare delivery itself is evolving. “The healthcare system as a whole is moving forward,” she noted. “A lot of these changes are moving toward value-based care, patient-centered care, and lifestyle medicine.”
As a result, the ACLM Partial Academic Pathway designation helps graduates enter the field with a meaningful advantage. “It poises our students very well in terms of supporting disease prevention, whole person-centered care, and health promotion — all within the frame of evidence-based practice,” Davis said.
That preparation is especially impactful in underserved and vulnerable communities. One such example is rural communities, where access to healthcare is significantly lower. “In rural areas, it can be difficult to make appointments, and there may be less access to certain medications,” she explained. “Educating patients through the lifestyle medicine pillars is beneficial in any population, but the unique challenges in rural environments make it particularly valuable. It can help decrease the need to see providers when there aren’t many slots open.”
Evolving to meet modern healthcare needs
At its core, lifestyle medicine represents a defining feature of the future of healthcare — one that emphasizes prevention, education, and partnership between providers and patients.
“The healthcare system is always evolving, and we have a duty to serve our patients as healthcare providers,” Davis said. “Part of that is educating them and working with them to provide the best treatment possible. Having tools in your pocket that help with behavior modifications can make a real difference for patients whose health outcomes are influenced by the pillars of lifestyle medicine.”
Through the ACLM Partial Academic Pathway designation, UB PAI is not only preparing students to meet the profession — and their patients — where they are today, but also where healthcare is headed next. It is a milestone that advances the Institute’s mission and further establishes University of Bridgeport as a definitive, future-forward choice for those pursuing a successful career as a PA.
With small class sizes, hands-on practice, and an emphasis on integrative medicine, UB’s PA program is designed to prepare healthcare professionals to meet patients where they are. Learn more today.
Bri Gagné is a content developer at University of Bridgeport, bringing backgrounds in literary studies, creative storytelling, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and social justice. They earned their bachelor’s degree in English Literature, Film Studies, and Gender Studies from University of Connecticut and a master’s in Elementary Education from Eastern Connecticut State University.
After teaching English abroad and locally, Bri transitioned to a full-time writing career, contributing to the University’s educational narratives and brand-building efforts. They are currently earning their Master of Fine Arts in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing at Emerson College.