ACGME Hosts Summit on Teaching Residents to Motivate Healthy Patient Behaviors

On October 26–27, 2026, the ACGME hosted the Summit on Teaching Residents to Motivate Healthy Behaviors, bringing together more than 70 faculty members, residents and fellows, and subject matter experts, building on the 2023 Summit on Medical Education in Nutrition and new specialty-/subspecialty-specific nutrition requirements going into effect in 2027. The two-day meeting centered on a simple premise: Nutrition knowledge alone will not improve the nation’s health. Physicians also need skills to motivate patients, understand their whole health, and help them set and work toward goals. 

Day 1 established a shared foundation in behavior change science and methods for teaching it in graduate medical education (GME) programs. Sessions explored stages of change and motivation, a patient’s lived experience of healthy behavior change, lifestyle medicine in GME, and behavior change education in medical school. Afternoon panelists discussed how residency and fellowship programs teach behavior motivation techniques and foster a supportive culture. Participants then identified and refined the knowledge, skills, and attitudes residents and fellows should develop during their GME experience. 

On Day 2, participants developed a framework for integrating healthy behavior training into residency and fellowship programs and identified gaps in available GME resources. The ACGME will use these insights to develop resources that support programs in preparing residents and fellows to help patients make lasting changes to improve their health. 

The ACGME will document the summit’s findings in a proceedings paper to be published in the coming months.