Learning Center
Functional Medicine Advanced Practice Modules (APM) Immune 2025
Online CourseThe Many Faces of Immune Dysregulation and Chronic Inflammation: Chronic Infections, Atopy, and Autoimmune Disorders
- Only the CME/CE option is eligible for commensurate CME/CE credits. More Info
- Base tuition for this program is $1,875. Automatic discounts, including membership pricing, have already been applied for logged in users. More Info
- APMs are advanced functional medicine courses that build upon foundational concepts presented in AFMCP. To make the most of your experience, we strongly recommend taking AFMCP to start your educational journey.
- This course is part of the IFM Certification Program and the Functional Medicine Certification Program™. More Info
- This course is eligible for Resident and Medical Student Tuition. More Info
- IFM offers a military discount. More Info
- 60 Day Online Cohort: March 17 - May 15, 2025
NEW COHORT FORMAT—LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE!
This module is now offered as a 60-day online cohort course. Following a semi-synchronous format, learners can review lectures at their own pace. Learners will have access to a private discussion forum to network with colleagues and further their understanding of course materials with the support of IFM facilitators and educators. The new format expands access to functional medicine education, allowing for clinicians to balance the demands of their practice and their training. Learners can access the course at any time and learn when it is most convenient for them. The quality and rigor of the course remain the same, but now clinicians have more time to fully understand and apply the course materials.
Today’s Landscape
It is estimated that 25 million to 50 million Americans suffer from autoimmune diseases. Functional medicine teaches that immune imbalance, while often resulting from a genetic disposition, will generally arise in the context of one or more of the following: the habitual consumption of a proinflammatory diet; food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances; microbial infections; hormonal imbalances; nutritional insufficiencies; and xenobiotic exposure.
Nearly 100 different diseases have been classified as autoimmune in nature, with 40 more suspected. While these conditions tend to be viewed as separate entities, a broader perspective may reveal that shared mechanisms are the underlying cause of these maladies. It is abundantly clear that environmental factors have important parts to play in the underlying etiology. In rheumatoid arthritis, for instance, genetic factors have been shown to be responsible for less than 50% of the risk. This means that environmental factors—and gene-environment interactions—must play a significant role. Despite this understanding, less attention has been focused on determining these other important causal factors.
Functional Medicine Advanced Practice Modules® (APM) Immune
This course will focus on chronic inflammation, systemic influences on the immune system, and the consequent dysfunction that may ensue. The Immune APM will supply you with an in-depth understanding of underlying immune mechanisms and enable you to develop effective interventions even in the absence of a conventional diagnosis.
APM Immune Online allows you to access the 60-day course at any time of the day, from any location with internet.
Additional Program Information
IFM Planning Calendar
This course includes 20 lectures WITH EDUCATORS:
| Session | Educator |
|---|---|
| Welcome and Introduction | Dan Lukaczer, ND |
| Underlying Concepts of Immune Dysfunction and Inflammation, Part 2 | Robert Rountree, MD |
| The Dietary Prescription for Chronic Inflammation & Autoimmune Conditions and Q&A (pre-recorded) | Helen Messier, PhD, MD |
| Therapeutic Uses of Essential Fatty Acids and Q&A (pre-recorded) | Kara Fitzgerald, ND |
| Laboratory Testing of Biomarkers of Immune Dysfunction and Q&A (pre-recorded) | Robert Rountree, MD |
| Q&A Session (pre-recorded) | Robert Rountree, MD Kara Fitzgerald, ND Dan Lukaczer, ND |
| Assessment of Chronic Infections, Part 1: Occult/Chronic Infections and Q&A (pre-recorded) | Tom Sult, MD |
| Food Allergies, Sensitivities, and Intolerances: Diagnosis and Treatment | Kara Fitzgerald, ND |
| Round Table Discussion: Food Reactions | Tom Sult, MD Kara Fitzgerald, ND Dan Lukaczer, ND |
| Therapeutic Uses of Anti-inflammatory Botanicals and Phytochemicals Part 2 and Q&A (pre-recorded) | Helen Messier, PhD, MD |
| Underlying Rationale for Use of Immunomodulators | Robert Rountree, MD |
| Roundtable Discussion: Immunomodulators and Anti-inflammatories | Helen Messier, PhD, MD Robert Rountree, MD Dan Lukaczer, ND |
| Assessment of Chronic Infections, Part 2: Dysbiosis | Helen Messier, PhD, MD |
| Case Management of Chronic Infections | Tom Sult, MD |
| Round Table Discussion: Dysbiosis and Chronic Infections | Helen Messier, PhD, MD Tom Sult, MD Dan Lukaczer, ND |
| The Diet Prescription and the Microbiome | Helen Messier, PhD, MD |
| Laboratory Testing and Use of Immunomodulators | Robert Rountree, MD |
| Case Management of Allergic, Atopy, and Mast Cell Activation | Kara Fitzgerald, ND |
| Case Management of Autoimmune Disease | Robert Rountree, MD |
| Summary: Key Clinical Applications and Closing | Robert Rountree, MD |
Topics:
Additional Information
Tools and Takeaways
Your tuition includes a comprehensive toolkit, clinical pearls to apply directly to your practice, and strategies to enhance your practice and approach to medicine. These include:
- 18.75 hours of video divided into segments so learners can come and go as they please within a 60-day timeframe.
- CME/CE credit, if CME/CE option is selected for purchase
- Entirely online; access the content from anywhere with a stable internet connection
- Course Materials: PDF presentation slides, MP3 audio recordings, and MP4 video recordings of the most recent Immune APM offering. Recordings will be made available after the close of the course to those who have completed the course. Course materials access lasts for one year post cohort.
- Pre- and post-course videos
- Access to IFM’s Toolkit, including intake forms, assessment questionnaires, patient handouts, customizable food plans, and laboratory assessment tools for the duration of the 60-day course.
- Access to an IFM-hosted private discussion group for community interaction and moderated discussion.
What You Will Learn
At the Immune APM you will learn how to:
- Identify different types of chronic inflammation and apply personalized treatments.
- Recognize that chronic inflammation is a root cause of nearly every chronic disease and achieve better outcomes by addressing it.
- Better diagnose systemic inflammation by recognizing subtle and often overlooked elements in the history and evaluation.
- Determine the root causes of each patient’s chronic inflammation to personalize treatment.
- Explain in plain language to patients how immune dysfunction is contributing to their current conditions to help motivate them and improve adherence.
- Identify subtle and often overlooked clues on conventional and advanced laboratory biomarkers that indicate inflammation or immune dysfunction.
- Develop personalized treatments for chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction for each patient that include dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, and nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and botanical treatments.
CME/CE Information
The CME/CE option is intended for clinicians who need to fulfill continuing education requirements. CME/CE is non-refundable. If you do not need CME/CE credits, you may purchase the non-CME option.
IFM is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
MD/DO: The Institute for Functional Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 22.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
New! ABP MOC points available: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn up to 22.5 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
ABIM MOC points available: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 22.5 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
DC: Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) provides continuing education credit for chiropractic physicians. Continuing education approval applications are submitted by NWHSU to all state chiropractic boards except Alberta, Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Wisconsin. For a complete list of states and approval hours, please contact IFM. For a complete list of states and approval hours, please email cme@ifm.org.
ND: Generally, state naturopathic boards accept courses accredited through the ACCME.
Nursing Professional: The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) accept contact hours approved through ACCME.
PA: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts contact hours approved through ACCME.
RD: The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) accepts contact hours approved through ACCME.
Acupuncturist: IFM is a continuing education provider of the California Acupuncture Board (CAB). This course has been approved by CAB, Provider Number 0232, for 22.5 Category 1 hours of continuing education. Per the Recertification Handbook of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), courses approved by a state acupuncture regulatory board are eligible to submit with the re-certification application. Note: California acupuncturists must participate in this course in full to receive CPEUs. Partial credit is not available.
Other: For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board or other credentialing organization regarding the acceptance of contact hours through ACCME-accredited organizations.
* CME/CE credits are subject to change.
Registration, Participation, and Cancellation Policies
REGISTRATION POLICY
Program materials and CME/CE certificates are delivered to you through your personal IFM online account. Online access cannot be shared – course materials, course content, and CME/CE credit are provided to the individual registrant only. For this reason, you may not register multiple people or someone other than yourself. No registrations will be taken after 4:00 pm PT, Monday, March 24, 2025.
Participation
Participants of the Immune Advanced Practice Module have 60 days from the course start date (Monday, March 17) to complete the program. If registrants are not current IFM members, 60 day access to IFM’s Clinical Practice Toolkit is included beginning on the course start date (Monday, March 17). Learners who do not complete within the time frame will lose access to all course materials. Our systems does not allow for course extensions for any reason. No partial CME/CE credit will be awarded.
CANCELLATION POLICY
| Cancellation Request Received | Eligible Refund |
| Date of registration/purchase – February 15, 2025* | Refund less 10% administrative fee |
| February 16, 2025 – March 02, 2025* | Refund less 25% administrative fee |
| March 03, 2025 – April 02, 2025 * | Refund less 50% administrative fee |
| After April 02, 2025 * | No Refund |
| *Next tier of fees in effect at midnight Pacific time
Tuition is non-transferable. Failure to log in to the livestream broadcast with no prior written cancellation or switch will result in complete forfeiture of tuition, course materials, and the course will not count toward certification (nonrefundable, nontransferable, no exceptions). Program materials are available only to registered participants. Log-in information is unique and cannot be shared. If you have completed your purchase through Affirm, your cancellation will incur an additional fee of up to 6%. Cancellation requests must be submitted via the Course Cancellation Form. IFM will reply with a written acknowledgement once processed. IFM will reply with a written acknowledgement once processed. My registration for the Advanced Practice Module (APM) signifies that I have read and agreed to IFM’s cancellation policy found above. My participation in the APM is not a substitute for any licensing requirements that may be applicable to me and does not independently authorize me to render care, prescribe regimens, or prescribe medications or supplements. My activities in the health and wellness field remain subject to my education, qualifications, and licensure. |
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Exhibit & Sponsorship Opportunities
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Fill out the form below, and a member of our team will connect with you to provide detailed information on sponsorship opportunities, helping you discover how your brand can make a lasting impact at an IFM Core Program.