If you are currently enrolled in a culinary medicine course at Tulane or one of our partner schools, please access your course at www.culinarymedicine.org/moodle.
Electives for First- and Second-Year Tulane Students
We offer two different elective options for first- and second-year medical students to get more exposure to culinary medicine with the teaching kitchen at GCCM.
Stand-alone Elective: The T1/T2 six-module course will teach fundamental dietary and nutrition knowledge with basic culinary skills through hands-on cooking classes. Lessons will be linked to the basic science curriculum (biochemistry, physiology, etc.) and those concepts will be tied to the practical clinical skills needed for the patient-physician discussion about the importance of dietary and lifestyle changes. This course expands on FIM lessons and students will be expected to watch a 15 to 20-minute presentation and take a short quiz before each scheduled class time. Step preparation is tied into the course, and students get to eat what is cooked in a family meal at the end of each session. This series culminates in a final project where students demonstrate what they’ve learned by creating and cooking a recipe for a patient to meet specific dietary needs.
This option runs on Fridays, 1:30 – 4:30 PM. Two sessions in the Fall semester and two sessions in the Spring semester can be offered (pending student interest).
Community Hybrid Elective: There are a total of six (6) 4-hour classes, which are integrated into community cooking classes. Since this elective is integrated with community members, students will get a true opportunity to develop relationships with community members and practice nutrition and counseling skills. Students will be guided to lead small group discussions covering the daily culinary medicine topics with community members during each class. By signing up for this elective, students are committing to attending at least 6 of the 7 classes and doing all pre-class online coursework (described above). Each week the students will meet to review a patient-centered case study or culinary medicine exercise linked to that week’s lesson before the community class session. BONUS: In addition to the elective, students will receive up to 15 hours of service-learning credit for participating in these classes!
This option runs on Wednesdays, 4:30 – 8:30 PM. The community hybrid elective is offered year-round with two sessions in the Fall semester and two sessions in the Spring semester.
Email Chef Heather Nace for more information and to find out about enrollment options.
Fourth-Year Elective Rotations
We offer a month-long elective rotation option for 4th-year Tulane and visiting students from other institutions that provides students with a deeper exposure to culinary medicine and the teaching kitchen operations.
In the 4th-year elective rotation, Tulane and visiting students will learn culinary medicine basics and help run classes for the community and 1st- and 2nd-year students. This rotation includes working in the kitchen, completing curriculum projects, and leading class discussions on culinary medicine concepts. Class preparation and helping to facilitate the cooking sessions for class participants is a key function during this rotation. Be prepared to be on your feet, in the kitchen, for a large portion of the experience. The rotation may include up to 40 hours/week with evenings and weekends (for community classes). Please note that we require a minimum of a 4-week commitment to complete this rotation. No exceptions will be made. Rotations are offered year-round. Housing is not provided for visiting students.
*Visiting students – to complete an application for a rotation, please use VSLO; we are listed under course MED4412.
For Tulane 4th-year students looking to get more exposure to culinary training and nutrition, we also offer a month-long away rotation at our partner culinary school, Johnson & Wales University, in Providence, RI. During this rotation, you will participate in hands-on culinary labs, culinary nutrition classes, and academics related to Medical Nutrition Therapy. These are offered during the Fall and Spring semesters, typically in October and February, and are limited to 4 students each year. Preference is given to those who have completed the Culinary Medicine elective here at Tulane, either during your first or fourth year. Please email Chef Heather at hnace@tulane.edu for more information.
