- Become a more Capable practitioner.
- Have a much greater Clinical Impact.
- Access higher Personal Satisfaction than ever before.
The Essential Gut Deep Dive
A self-paced, clinical course that empowers practitioners to resolve root causes of chronic disease via the gastrointestinal tract.
Learn the assessment and sustainable clinical resolution of dozens of functional gut imbalances that promote systemic disease. With hundreds of case-specific nuances and considerations.
Practical skills and tools you can use right away!
What Practitioners are Saying
Over 1000 practitioners have taken this course, and many have shared about it in their own words (more further below).
"Already making changes to some of my patients' care plans based on what I have learned. Thank you!"
Christine C, NP
"I enjoyed the depth of information in the course. This was such a beneficial addition to my knowledge. The information will be useful for how I create my practice and how I will help clients in the future. Thank you."
Lisa R., FDN-P
"This was a fabulous course that I plan to go back and listen to again."
Erin G, NP
"An amazing information packed course, will change the way you understood / practice medicine."
Zanab Q, PharmD
"This was a very well organized course, and the combination of slides, audio, and educational materials was conducive to maximum learning."
Diane H, MD
"Excellent deep dive, very comprehensive and informative - thank you!"
Sara L, RN
"Excellent course that will certainly make an impact on my practice and future patients. There is so much information in this course, I could continue rewatching and learn something new each time!"
Krista S, RDN
"This information is so refreshing after only having been educated in the conventional world.
Thanks for all you do!"
Mary M, NP
"Phenomenal Course! I will listen to this over and over again."
Lorene E, HC
Course Content
This twelve-hour course explores many topics, including
- Physiological and biochemical interconnectedness between the gut and the brain, immune function, hormones, metabolism, systemic inflammation, and more.
- Assessment and resolution of gut terrain imbalances that promote disease, including motility, pH, barrier integrity, digestive secretions, epithelial function, microbial diversity, and parasympathetic activation.
- Root causes and mediators of GI dysfunction, such as GERD, IBS, constipation, food sensitivities, poor gallbladder emptying, pancreatic insufficiency, hypochlorhydria, mucosal degradation, and enhanced intestinal permeability.
- Microbiome effects on physiology and clinical strategies to counter dysbiosis, optimize diversity, and prime balanced immune function.
- Indications of and interventions for imbalances such as H. pylori overgrowth, SIBO, IMO, hydrogen sulfide overload, and recurrent Candida challenges.
- Root causes of stubborn/recurrent gut dysfunction and nuanced use of specific tools to resolve them.
- Savvy case assessment considerations including integration of lab data, symptom presentation, health history, diet, sleep, stress, supplements, and medications.
- Evidence based science. Easy access to published references.
- Hundreds of practical clinical case considerations.
- The FxMed approach to case assessment and interventional planning.
Who Benefits From This Course?
This Offering is FOR YOU if...
- You're a medical or wellness professional or student with clinical experience.
- You're frustrated by suboptimal clinical outcomes or disease recurrence or the limitations of disease management.
- You're an intrigued newcomer to functional medicine OR you're well familiar with functional medicine and desire having a larger clinical impact using it.
- You've been curious to explore and experience SAFM's training and want CMEs.
- You're ready to become the practitioner you've always wanted to be.
Whether your expertise is metabolic dysfunction or autoimmune disease, fertility, longevity, perimenopause, IBS, and more, it’s essential for you to Master the Gut.
Harness the power of well applied Functional Medicine in your practice, so you can...
- Stop the frustration of lackluster Patient Results.
Improve your practice outcomes with many critical clinical nuances that most practitioners are Missing because they typically are not taught, even in advanced coursework.
- Stand Out as an Expert In Your Field.
Finally resolve often overlooked roots of disease recurrence.
Create authentic, raving fans whose testimonials and referrals can steadily build your practice for you.
- Savor a much bigger Clinical Impact.
Accelerate Patient Recovery by addressing unexpected case considerations and disease drivers.
Overwhelm and any lingering sense of imposter syndrome can naturally fade away.
What You Can Expect
Evidence-Based Science to Fuel Your Clinical Decisions
Dive into eight weeks of science-packed, self-paced learning on GI function through the functional medicine lens. Explore the “What, When, Why, and How” of disease that begins in the gut and creates downstream imbalance elsewhere in the body. Learn to get at the roots of unique case dysfunction to create raving fan patient results. Twelve hours of video.
Practical Complex Case Application
This course includes hundreds of case considerations. Yes, hundreds! Plus, you'll activate this knowledge in one of SAFM's complex case practice sessions. Study the case details in advance and then join Tracy Harrison, founder and principal instructor, as she partners to connect the dots on a successful clinical plan with a practitioner from SAFM's student community.
Curated Research
Get steeped in a rich understanding of critical functional balances such as gut barrier function, the regulatory effects of bile, the spectrum of IBS true root causes, myths and missteps with microbial overgrowths, resolution of digestive deficiencies, the many ways in which chronic disease outside the gut actually begins in the gut, and the powerful, systemic impact of targeted interventions.
Practical Clinical Tools
Access dozens of specific, clinical recommendations and tools, including select practitioner resources and patient handouts to help you begin putting your new learning into practice, immediately, no matter your health care setting or modality.
Continuing Education Credit
Upon completion of the course, participants are eligible for up to 10 hours of Continuing Education credit (CE/CMEs). See FAQs below for more details.
Start Your Essential Gut Deep Dive Today
Dramatically enhance your clinical know-how in just 8 weeks.
$697
"I have thoroughly enjoyed the practical aspect of this course. It has brought together the essential knowledge and clinical pearls in a really enjoyable way. Thanks so much for this! It has inspired me to continue on my functional medicine journey."
Alison S, MD
"It was fantastic. I can't believe how much I learned! And will continue to learn as I listen again."
Deborah L, PA
"Overall, a wonderful educational experience!"
Heather K, PharmD
"I highly enjoyed this course and all of the practical information I learned that I feel I can put right into my practice - I would happily recommend it to a colleague."
Debbie K, LCN
"This has been absolutely phenomenal and it makes me look forward to enrolling in SAFM's overall [FM] program."
Celeste Y, HC
"This was my first course in Functional Medicine and a very eye-opening experience...I'm excited to continue learning."
Melissa T, PharmD
"Wonderful program and easy to navigate! ... really appreciate the lack of fluff - to the point but well explained."
Sarah W, NP
"This course was very informative and truly provided an in-depth exploring of gut imbalances - diagnosis and treatment. I am very impressed with the content."
Katiana B, APRN
"I enjoyed every minute of it ... I finish feeling like I have plenty of tools to take to practice immediately."
Allison F, LAc
"Great course. Encouraged me to do the full [FM] program."
Sofia B, MD
"I loved the amount of information and how well the course connected the dots."
Lisa J, RPh
"I loved the amount of information and how well the course connected the dots."
Lisa J, RPh
"Fantastic course... I love all of the resource materials and ability to download the transcripts and slides for continued review. Thank You again for an informative and enlightening course!"
Monique G, NP
"I wondered what I would actually learn in this course, having practiced integrative and function medicine for over three years, but I did glean useful reminders about the basics and also some very useful advanced pearls - thank you!"
Veronica P, PA
"This course has extremely useful information and it encourages you to keep learning more and go deeper into the concepts. The case study and the mapping done by Tracy and the presenter was just so awesome."
Rashmi S, NBHWC
"This was my first experience with SAFM. The learning style works well for me, and the content and delivery was refreshing!"
Sydney S, RN
"This course was wonderful - thorough and enlightening. I feel educated and inspired and would recommend it to anyone looking to pursue functional medicine... I'm very grateful for the depth of knowledge and the scientific based approach to disease."
Erin M, NP
"Amazing course - a great mix of science and application."
Rebecca A, HC
"The course is great. I would definitely recommend it to my colleagues. Very informative."
Annaliese, PA
What You Can Gain
The gut is the best place to begin (or return to) on your journey to doing your Best Work. And while much of the functional medicine education available today can lead to Knowledge and Credentials, it often overlooks the clinical Capability that practitioners most want.
Many programs lack the practical application nuances that are essential for clinical Results. A “devil-in-the-details” deep dive is what you truly need to help you reach your greatest potential in supporting complex patients/clients.
What can you gain in just eight weeks?
New Insight
This “Essential Gut Deep Dive” course will help you get to the roots of gut health imbalances and shed light on their role in many downstream systemic diseases.
Your patients are counting on you constantly expanding your education and capability to help them get well and, most importantly, stay well.
Prepare for brand new clinical Aha! insights. Especially for recurrent disease.
New Energy
In your profession, there’s a good chance that you're a generous GIVER. To patients, family, neighbors, and passions.
Expending all that time and energy can be exhausting.
Master new thinking to enhance your approach, dramatically improve your outcomes, and reinvigorate your career.
New Confidence
Lots of knowledge taught with too little application focus often leaves practitioners feeling hesitant, unprepared, or resigned to working within their “comfort zone”.
Opportunities to expand your thinking, honor curiosity, and explore the root cause resolution of your clients' disease states have the power to galvanize your confidence.
It's time for the sort of trusted capability that fuels your success.
New Hope
Your patients are suffering. It’s essential that you're educated to understand the connection between gut health and chronic illness.
The science of functional medicine can offer you a new path to reverse rather than simply treat disease.
Your patients, your career success, and your greatest vision of your own impact are all depending on Your willingness to explore new solutions.
$697
Transform your Practice and your Clinical Results
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will benefit from this course?
This course is designed for medical and wellness professionals seeking to improve their clinical outcomes whether working in a managed or entrepreneurial (i.e., private practice) care setting.
There are two groups of practitioners who can benefit most from this learning experience.
- Practitioners relatively new to functional medicine who have sampled enough of the science (and perhaps inspired testimonials from your colleagues) to know just how powerful it will be to add this clinical know-how to your practice. You’re ready to turn your curiosity into capability and feel the gut is a great place to dive into!
- Practitioners already educated in functional medicine and the power it holds to improve clinical outcomes. This course offers an opportunity for some intensive focus on often overlooked factors at play in stubborn and/or recurrent gut dysfunction. It's the devil-in-the-detail that’s missing from the vast majority of functional medicine education.
Who can participate in this course?
This course is designed as advanced, continuing education to support licensed and certified medical and wellness professionals interested in exploring the value of functional medicine in their professional practice. There are, however, no formal enrollment requirements.
Should I register if I'm already an SAFM student or graduate?
No. If you're currently enrolled in one of our comprehensive training programs or are AFMC certified, you already have access to this amazing content and so much more.
How long will I have access to the course?
Participants have access for eight weeks from the date of purchase.
Is this course live or interactive?
All instruction in the course is delivered online via self-paced, recorded content that enables you to plan this study around your unique schedule. A live call with an SAFM advisor is included in the course to provide an opportunity for you to discuss how you might or intend to use functional medicine and the new insights from this course to optimize your clinical impact.
Will this course include a deep dive on comprehensive stool testing and interpretation?
No. This course does include a rich overview of often overlooked gut functional imbalances that directly contribute to concerning stool test results (and their recurrence). However, focused curriculum on stool testing is not included in this course. It is available as optional curriculum content for practitioners who enroll in SAFM's comprehensive training programs.
Are CMEs available for this course? How can I claim them?
Yes. This course is eligible for up to 10 Continuing Education (CME/CE) credits upon completion of all the modules. Upon submission of the course learning evaluation survey, participants will be able to request Continuing Education credits from SAFM. Please visit this site to see the organizations through which SAFM is accredited today.
What are the formal objectives for this course?
This clinical course will equip you to:
- Analyze specific components of gut function and "terrain" that influence the development of gastrointestinal disease such as GERD and IBS.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the gut microbiome and its influence on immune function.
- Identify specific lifestyle and nutrition factors involved in developing various types of gut disease and enhanced intestinal permeability.
- Evaluate states of maldigestion and determine inadequate digestive secretions and targeted strategies for ameliorating them.
- Evaluate a patient case to identify a customized plan to restore digestive capacity to the mouth, stomach, and small intestines via a “5Rs” approach.
Will completion of this course make me eligible to enroll in SAFM's functional medicine training program?
No. While the course will certainly enhance each participant's foundational knowledge of functional medicine, you must still demonstrate that you meet SAFM's eligibility criteria in order to enroll in the comprehensive FM training programs.
Will this course count toward my curriculum requirements if I enroll in SAFM's functional medicine training program?
No. It will, however, ease your completion of the full clinical course on which this one is based, Disease Begins in the Gut. This course is a required element of SAFM's Level 1 Functional Medicine program curriculum.
Will this course convey a certification in gut health or functional medicine?
No. This course does not convey certification, title, or change in modality of any kind.
Fall in love with your career again.
The Essential Gut Deep Dive may be your powerful next step.
Tuition $697