<a href="https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/walmart-heiress-opens-medical-school-to-combat-the-broken-american-sick-care-system/" target="_blank">View original image source</a>.
Forget everything you thought you knew about medical schools! Alice L. Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has just opened the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas, and it’s flipping the conventional curriculum on its head. This new school recently accepted only 48 students out of 2,000 applicants, and they’re teaching students not just how to diagnose patients but how to cultivate a culture of health through cooking, art, and even gardening. Can you imagine your future doctor asking you if you have enough basil in your life?
This innovative approach aims to address not just individual health but the broader, often neglected issues in the American healthcare system. Dr. Sharmila Makhija, a gynecologic cancer surgeon, is at the helm, advocating for a curriculum that marries traditional medicine with holistic practices. With 50 hours dedicated to nutrition alone—far exceeding the average of typical schools—the focus is all about prevention instead of reaction. It’s about time we turn the tide and treat health like a garden instead of just managing the weeds!
So, why can’t future doctors also teach you how to cook a healthy meal while they’re at it? The question remains: will this approach actually lead to better health outcomes, or is it just a recipe for disaster? Either way, let’s keep our fingers crossed that someday, when we say we’re “going to the doctor,” it’ll be for a wholesome veggie smoothie rather than a prescription pad. What do you think? Could cooking classes for doctors ever become the norm?
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