Saahil Ahmed reflects on how a student selected module, research
and BSLM2026 shaped his approach to medicine.
Even four weeks on it’s difficult to articulate how it felt to stand
on stage and deliver one of the closing speeches at the 10th annual
conference of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, straight
after the President of the Royal College of Physicians Professor
Mumtaz Patel, and the Editor-in-Chief of The BMJ Professor Kamran
Abbasi. This was a true privilege for a medical student attending
his first conference.
Discovering lifestyle medicine at medical school
My lifestyle medicine awakening began in a student selected module
led by Dr Tajvinder Kaur Grewal and Dr Lavanya Vimalan; across seven
weeks my classmates and I were introduced to each of the six pillars
of lifestyle medicine and encouraged to learn through activities
and lectures given by guest speakers Dr Vinod Patel and Dr Harriet
Richmond.
These seven weeks inspired the research I presented at the conference:
“Medical Students’ Perspectives on Lifestyle Medicine Following a
Student Selected Module and 8 Months of Clinical Rotations.”
What our research found
Our study found that after just one student selected module and
8 months of clinical rotations across surgical specialties, internal
medicine and general practice, 100% of respondents rated
lifestyle medicine as “very important”, a sharp rise from
9% of respondents beforehand.
Furthermore, a substantial 91% of students reported that
this module had a “large” or “significant” impact on how
they will approach their future clinical practice after graduation.
This data supports the case for the implementation of lifestyle
medicine teaching within medical school and allied healthcare curricula.
This abstract is now published in Lifestyle Medicine Advances
in collaboration with The BMJ, and if you’d like to see the poster
I displayed at the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference
2026, feel free to reach out!
Four moments that stayed with me at BSLM2026
Despite studying in close proximity at the University of Warwick,
the three days I spent at Warwick Arts Centre were incredibly
refreshing. The conference gave me the opportunity to talk with
pioneers in their respective fields, and it didn’t just inspire
me but also set a direction for the type of career that I’m
working towards. I learnt a plethora of lessons, but four
moments stuck with me:
-
I spent time with Mr George Ampat and Dr Deepak Ravindran
-
I started day two with a 5K led by Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi and
set a personal best; few conferences let you practise what
they preach before breakfast! -
Dr Paul Chadwick’s talk changed how I understand what motivates
change in our patients, and what our role is in supporting them. -
Dr Justin Varney-Bennett’s talk left me thinking about my own
career through the lens of personalised medicine in a rapidly
evolving landscape.
discussing prehab, and joined the MSK Special Interest Group
for dinner. I truly resonated with Mr Ampat when he said
that he “found his tribe” at this conference.
Taking lifestyle medicine into my future practice
I was struck by how many delegates had the drive for innovation
grounded in a real desire to connect with patients; it reminded
me exactly why I chose medicine.
I’m grateful to Dr Rob Lawson, Dr Clare Nieland and Frances Elliot,
who took the time after my closing presentation to talk with me
about where lifestyle medicine goes next. Thank you, too, to the
entire BSLM team for organising such a fantastic conference.
I can’t wait for Llandudno in 2027.
I left Warwick with a pledge: to keep championing lifestyle
medicine not as an “alternative” to medicine, but as the
foundation it should always have been.
