The Courage to Pivot: From Sick Care to Lifestyle Medicine

The Courage to Pivot: From Sick Care to Lifestyle Medicine

From Flip your Script by American College of Lifestyle Medicine

May 13, 2026 · 23 min · Season 1 · Episode 33

About this episode

Dr. Alicia Craig Rodriguez discusses her journey from traditional healthcare to lifestyle medicine and the importance of empowering patients.

Welcome to another episode of Flip Your Script , a vodcast by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, hosted by ACLM President Dr. Padmaja Patel. In each episode, we explore five key takeaways on how lifestyle medicine is helping clinicians and leaders reimagine the future of healthcare. This episode, “The Courage to Pivot: From Sick Care to Lifestyle Medicine,” features Dr. Alicia Craig Rodriguez, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, educator, and leader in integrative health innovation at Florida State University’s College of Nursing. With a career spanning bedside nursing, pharmaceutical drug development, executive leadership, and academic innovation, Dr. Alicia shares the deeply personal and professional journey that led her to rethink how healthcare should be practiced. The conversation explores what it means to step outside your comfort zone in pursuit of meaningful change. After years leading the development of life-saving medications, Dr. Alicia realized that treating chronic disease required more than prescriptions alone. She discusses why she pivoted back to direct patient care, how lifestyle medicine reshaped her understanding of prevention and healing, and…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Padmaja Patel

Guest: Dr. Alicia Craig Rodriguez

Topics covered

  • lifestyle medicine
  • healthcare innovation
  • chronic disease prevention
  • patient empowerment
  • nursing education

Keywords

  • lifestyle medicine
  • chronic disease
  • patient care
  • healthcare transformation
  • nursing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Florida State University

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