Community Collective: Harnessing the Power of the Community to Battle Obesity is an educational curriculum designed for primary care clinicians to enhance outcomes for individuals with obesity through improved diagnosis and use of anti-obesity medications (AOMs). This regional series consists of three individual activities (2 live-virtual and 1 live in-person) tailored to the educational needs of US clinicians who treat patients with obesity and practice in geographic areas with a greater prevalence of the disease. National and local experts in the treatment of obesity will discuss the risk factors and comorbidities associated with obesity, strategies to conduct a thorough diagnosis of obesity, the latest safety and efficacy data for recently approved and emerging AOMs, as well as approaches to the optimal use of AOMs with shared decision-making. Community Collective is designed to facilitate networking and collaborative consultation among local clinicians and obesity experts in your area.

Target Audience:
This activity is planned for primary care physicians, NPs, and PAs who treat individuals with obesity throughout the US.

Abby L. Bleistein, MD, FAAP, ACP, DABOM
Founder and Medical Director
Healthful Life MD
Golden, CO, US

Dr. Abby Bleistein is the founder and medical director of a multidisciplinary Obesity Medicine practice, Healthful Life MD, where she currently practices in Golden, Colorado. The multidisciplinary approach includes a certified nutritionist, a registered dietitian, a certified trainer, specialists in health psychology, sleep disorders, trauma, and eating disorders, and a chef specializing in culinary nutrition.  She also provides coverage for the medical teams treating inpatient and residential patients at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado, and she cares for pediatric patients with obesity in the primary care setting in Thornton, Colorado. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.  She is the current Colorado State Advocacy Representative for the Obesity Care Continuum for the Obesity Medicine Association and she is part of the working group developing the Colorado Obesity Society.  In 2016, Dr. Bleistein was recognized by the Obesity Medicine Association as Candidate of the Year. She has served on the Pediatric Committee, the Advocacy Committee, and as a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Obesity Medicine Association.

Jacinda Nicklas, MD, MPH/MSPH
Associate Professor, Medicine-Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, CO, US

Jacinda Nicklas is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Director of the SCORE Fellowship. She received her MD from Harvard Medical School and completed her residency in internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and completed her clinical research fellowship in Integrative Medicine and General Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nicklas completed the NIH-funded Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 award, and completed a K23 career development award funded by the NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Her research focuses on lifestyle interventions for patients at elevated cardiometabolic risk using websites, apps, lifestyle and medication interventions. She practices primary care, obesity medicine and runs a postpartum transition clinic for women who had high risk pregnancies. 

After completing this CE activity, the participant should be better able to:

  • Identify risk factors and common medical consequences and comorbidities of the chronic disease of obesity
  • Conduct a thorough diagnosis, including waist circumference, for patients who may have overweight/obesity
  • Evaluate the safety and efficacy of the most recently approved and emerging AOMs
  • Appropriately discuss effective weight loss options, including new and emerging pharmacotherapies, through a shared decision-making approach

In support of improving patient care, Medical Learning Institute, Inc. is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

Medical Learning Institute, Inc. (MLI) designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Creditsâ„¢. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

AAPA Credit Designation Statement

Medical Learning Institute, Inc. has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for up to 3.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) Statement

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive up to 3.0  Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.

Disclosure & Conflict of Interest Policy

Medical Learning Institute, Inc., is committed to providing high quality continuing education to healthcare professionals, as individuals and teams, with a protected space to learn, teach, and engage in scientific discourse free from influence from ineligible companies that may have an incentive to insert commercial bias into education.  To that end, MLI requires faculty, presenters, planners, staff, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this CE activity to disclose all financial relationships they have had in the past 24 months with ineligible companies as defined by the ACCME, as related to the content of this CE activity, regardless of the amount or their view of the relevance to the education. All identified COI will be thoroughly vetted and mitigated according to MLI policy. These disclosures will be provided to learners prior to the start of the CE activity. 

Faculty Disclosures

Planner/Presenter
Abby L. Bleistein, MD, FAAFP, ACP, DABOM
Internal Medicine/Pediatrics/Obesity Medicine
Healthful Life MD
Golden, CO, US

Dr. Bleistein’s disclosures will be listed soon

Planner/Presenter
Jacinda Nicklas, MD, MPH/MSPH
Associate Professor, Medicine-Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, CO, US

Dr. Nicklas’ disclosures will be listed soon

Planner
Scott D. Isaacs, MD, FACP, FACE
Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA

Scott D. Isaacs, MD, FACP, FACE, has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose for this educational activity. 

Planner
Robert F. Kushner, MD
Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Education
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, IL

Robert F. Kushner, MD, has a financial interest/relationship or affiliation in the form of:

Advisory Board/Consultant: Altimmune, Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Weight Watchers

Planner
Holly F. Lofton, MD, DABOM
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and Medicine
Director, Medical Weight Management Program
NYU Langone Weight Management Program
New York, NY

Holly F. Lofton, MD, DABOM, has a financial interest/relationship or affiliation in the form of:

Advisory Board/Consultant: Novo Nordisk
Research Grant: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk
Speakers’ Bureau: Novo Nordisk
The following relationships have ended within the last 24 months:
Advisory Board/Consultant: Currax

All of the relevant financial relationships of individuals for this activity have been mitigated.

Planning Committee and Content/Peer Reviewers

The planners and content/peer reviewers from Medical Learning Institute, Inc., the accredited provider, do not have any relevant financial relationships to disclose with ineligible companies unless listed below.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussions of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this CE activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. The opinions expressed in the CE activity are those of the presenters and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this CE activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this CE activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Method of Participation

There are no fees for participating in or receiving credit for this CE activity. In order to receive credit, learners must participate in the entire CE activity, complete the activity evaluation form and your certificate of credit will be generated. You will receive your certificate from Medical Learning Institute, Inc. 

For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board.

If you have questions regarding your certificate, please contact MLI at mvu@mlieducation.org.

About This Activity

Medical Learning Institute, Inc. is responsible for the selection of this activity’s topics, the preparation of editorial content, and the distribution of this CE activity. Our activities may contain references to unapproved products or uses of these products in certain jurisdictions. The preparation of this activity is supported by educational grants subject to written agreements that clearly stipulate and enforce the editorial independence of Medical Learning Institute, Inc.

The materials presented here are used with the permission of the authors and/or other sources. These materials do not necessarily reflect the views of Medical Learning Institute, Inc. or any of its partners, providers, and/or supporters.

Copyright © 2023 Medical Learning Institute, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

THREE-PART CURRICULUM

Activity 1: Virtual Live
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM MT
via Zoom, presented by Dr. Jacinda Nicklas
Importance of conversations about an obesity diagnosis

Activity 2: Virtual Live
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 | 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM MT
via Zoom, presented by Dr. Abby Bleistein
Practical application of new and emerging data

Activity 3: Live In-Person 
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM MT
Location TBD
Moderated by Dr. Bleistein, Dr. Nicklas,
and other Colorado Obesity Society members

Q&A, case consults, building a network, spreading the word

Support Statement
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Lilly   

In partnership with 

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