This process allows them to see what works best in a classroom setting rather than by just learning from a textbook.

鈥淲hat I like about the class is that we do get to take the class in a middle school,鈥� said Chris Miller, a UofL student in the teaching program. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 not like you鈥檙e just reading out of a book and then expected to go into these classrooms and know what you鈥檙e doing.鈥�

The program is giving these future teachers an idea of what they are getting themselves into and what their future careers will entail. It is allowing them to interact with middle schoolers on a personal level and learn how they think and work in a classroom setting.

鈥淏eing able to interact with them one-on-one and see what a classroom looks like, gave me a better idea of what I was getting myself into and what my career was going to look like,鈥� said Andrea Wyatt, a UofL graduate and Westport Middle School teacher.

Check out more information about this program below:聽

No joke. They are there to teach medical students about choosing and preparing food that will sustain their own health as well as give them the tools to talk about food realistically with their patients.

The culinary medicine program is a new eight-week elective for students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine designed to help future physicians understand the challenges their patients face in obtaining, selecting and preparing foods. Eat 2B Well was conceptualized by Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, dean of the School of Medicine, Jon Klein, MD, PhD, vice dean for Research, and Karan Chavis, the dean鈥檚 chief of staff. UofL nutritionist Diana Pantalos, PhD, RDN, developed the curricular content.

Eat 2B Well was modeled on at Tulane University, developed by Timothy Harlan, MD.

With increasing evidence that a poor diet causes or exacerbates many chronic diseases, it is more important than ever for physicians to help their patients eat well. However, physicians traditionally learn about nutrition in terms of science and clinical impact, which doesn鈥檛 always translate to helping patients eat better. Eat 2B Well is aimed at helping future doctors understand the issues their patients face in terms of resources, time and food preparation skills.

鈥淢any of the chronic health problems that burden the Commonwealth, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, can be prevented through good nutrition. The goal of Eat 2B Well is to equip UofL medical students with the real-world practical knowledge of nutrition and healthy cooking so that they can best help their future patients,鈥� Klein said.

Each Eat 2B Well class includes instruction on practical nutrition, disease association, and food preparation from a team that includes a registered dietitian/nutritionist, a professional chef and a member of the Medical School faculty. Local chefs, including Anoosh Shariat of and , Kathy Douglas of the and Bobby Benjamin of provide instruction for the food preparation portion of the class.

Joining the medical students in the classes are students from the culinary track of , an education, job training and leadership program for low-income young adults ages 18-24. Classes include discussion of issues associated with food insecurity and the health problems resulting from poor nutrition. Class groups will then prepare meals utilizing cost-conscious ingredients readily available at grocery stores and markets in West Louisville, and prepared with equipment available in low-income homes.

鈥淭o talk comfortably about food, medical professionals need to be respectful of individuals鈥� food cultures, to understand how complex social factors influence food habits and to have hands-on experience preparing food themselves,鈥� Pantalos said.

In the near future, organizers are planning to extend the program to include community engagement activities, providing at-risk families with food preparation education.

is providing food for the classes, which take place at , 340 W. Chestnut St. Additional sponsors include Gordon Food Service and Save-A-Lot Grocery. New Roots, Inc. and the Sullivan University and Jefferson Community and Technical College culinary arts programs have provided logistical support.

Celebrity chefs:

• Eneitra Beattie, Brown Forman Corporation, Bourbon Street Caf茅
• Bobby Benjamin, Butchertown Grocery
• Kathy Douglas, Fresh Chef Experience
• Tina Lee, Fresh Stop Market, Dare to Care
• Lorita Rowlett, Fresh Stop Market
• Anoosh Shariat, Anoosh Bistro, Noosh Nosh
• Gabe Sowder, Wiltshire Pantry
• Andrea Wells, Farm to Baby Louisville

Students learn on interactive, human-like robots and real people posing as patients. Sim lab technician Stuart Crawford says students learn how to draw blood, start an IV, deliver babies and do pelvic exams.

“Just about any clinical procedure that you can think of there鈥檚 a trainer (robot) for that,” Crawford said.

Student Ashley Lee was getting recently trained on CPR and surgical airways while also evaluating a UofL faculty member posing as a patient with abdominal pain.

“It just gives you a real life scenario of what you鈥檇 see in a hospital,” she said.

When he first interacted with the robots in the sim lab, future doctor Mark Eid didn鈥檛 realize they could breathe oxygen and talk, giving him feedback on whether he was doing a procedure the right way.

“I think it鈥檚 great training in a low stakes controlled environment before you get put into a hospital and patient encounter,” Eid said.

Check out more about the “sim lab:”聽