Where I Received My Functional Medicine Education

Posted on by Meg McElroy MS, PA-C

I get asked all the time: What is the best organization for functional medicine education?

As much as I’d like to say that one of the following is THE best, the truth is that every organization has their strengths, and areas they could improve on.

My List (So Far…)

The following are organizations where I’ve received my education for functional and integrative medicine. There are a few I missed, I’m sure, but it’s 95% complete up to this point.

  • Advanced Applications in Medical Practice (AAMP) (one of my favorites – mostly attended by NDs, but I go yearly now)
    • Advanced Infectious Disease Management Spring 2021
    • Advanced Applications in Endocrine Assessment Fall 2022
    • Mitochondrial Medicine: Healing in Chronic and Post-Infectious Illness (Long-Covid and More) Spring 2023
  • American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M): Multiple Courses/Conferences
  • Cogence Immunology (enrolled since 2019)
  • Dr. Andrew Weil’s Pelvic Pain Course 2021
  • Dr. Grace Liu’s Peptides and Gut Workshop 2022
  • Dr. Jill Crista’s Mold Literacy Course Certification 2023
  • Dr. Michael Ruscio’s online mentorship (no longer available, but may still be able to access – lots of great discussions!)
  • Dr. Neil Nathan and Jill Crista’s mentorship 2023
  • Dr. Paul Anderson’s monthly webinars
  • Dr. Tierna LowDog’s Herbalism Course for medical professionals
  • Hedberg Institute monthly webinars
  • Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)
    • Core Courses:
      • GI 2018
      • Detox 2019
      • Hormones 2019
      • Cardiometabolic 2020
      • Energy 2019
      • AFMCP 2017
    • Annual International Conferences (4 so far: 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
    • Workshops for IFM certified practitioners (don’t think they do this anymore, though)
    • Reversing Cognitive Decline (Dr. Dale Bredesen’s first course before Apollo Health) 2017
    • Certification Exam and Case Review 2020
  • IntellxxDNA
  • International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illnesses Conferences (ISEAI)
    • Cultivating Resilience: The Environmentally Acquired Illness Framework Part 2 (2022)
    • Mold Symposium (2023)
  • Kalish Institute: Amino Acids Course 2021
    • He also has free webinars periodically (I’ve attended a few of these)
    • He also used to teach via IFM for business support courses
  • Kharrazian Institute Courses
    • Neuroinflammation
    • Hashimoto’s
    • Infertility, Prenatal Care, and Maternal Health
    • Chronic Fatigue and Pain Syndromes
  • Metabolic Fitness (Dr. Brian Walsh), Vitamin D Course 2022
  • Metabolic Health Summit 2022
  • OAT training course by Elizma Lambert
  • Parsley Health’s Learning and Development days (one day every quarter, my company brings in speakers; these are called L&D Days)
  • Precision Analytical Inc (Lab Company): DUTCH courses (also through Rupa Health, which is a company that carries a lot of functional medicine labs and sends them to patients as part of their service)
  • Probiotic Advisor: Fructose Intolerance Course 2022
  • Psychiatry Redefined course on depression, 2022
  • PubMed (use this daily; also, this is where I started back in the early 2000s)
  • School of Applied Functional Medicine (SAFM): One semester, 2020
  • Seeds Peptide Course (currently enrolled)
  • Supplement Company Courses
    • Beyond Balance Practitioner Training (2023) and Long Covid Training (2022)
    • DesBio Detox Training 2023
    • Apex Energetics
    • Quicksilver Scientific
    • Fullscript Education Platform
  • Ty Vincent’s Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) workshop, 2021

We All Learn Differently

A big reason I can’t say one of the above is the best is because none include all the elements of what I’d want in an education program. For example, my preferred style of learning would include:

  • Outlines for each presentation (especially when they line up with the slides, so I can take notes on the outline)
  • Powerpoint slides that are not filled with too much information
  • Case studies that show when treatments worked….AND when they didn’t work
  • Ability to listen in mp3 format
  • Courses or lectures that give a 1-2 minutes “brain break,” every 20-30 minutes
  • Scientific references that prioritize meta analyses and are human-based (we don’t have a lot of these types of studies that back up integrative/functional medicine approaches – most large studies are cost millions of dollars, which is why pharmaceutical companies fund most large studies)
  • Tips for efficiency in the clinical setting (most of us cannot spend an hour before and after a visit on one patient)
  • Successful case examples where less than 8-10 supplements were used, and their was discussion on why the treatments likely worked (i.e. connecting the treatments to the biology of the patient)
  • Discussion on whether supplements can work together or may be antagonistic (which is why I question the use of so many supplements at one time)

There are many other organizations for training than what are listed above. If you want to support me, while getting a very comprehensive resource on functional medicine education options (with as many details as I could obtain for each organization, including cost), consider purchasing my Detailed Guide to Functional Medicine Education (for medically-trained practitioners).