IFM SCHOLARHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Debbie Sanstad Scholarship

 

In memory of longtime IFM team member Debbie Sanstad, this annual scholarship covers tuition for all IFM core curriculum (AFMCP + APMs), which can be applied towards the 100 hours of accredited functional medicine education required to qualify for certification. The scholarship is intended for clinicians around the globe and alternates recognizing individuals based either inside or outside the United States on a yearly rotation. In 2025, the scholarship will be awarded to a clinician who resides and practices outside of the United States and is seeking certification in functional medicine.     
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Honoring Its Namesake

Debbie Sanstad dedicated 12 years of her life to helping to build IFM and expand the role of functional medicine in health care. She found great benefit in utilizing functional medicine in her own personal health journey and valued supporting clinicians along their own paths to functional medicine. Debbie loved attending IFM programs in person to connect with attendees and the community. It is this genuine investment in the functional medicine community that would have made Debbie so proud of this effort in her honor to support the next generation of functional medicine practitioners. It is IFM’s wish that awarding this scholarship annually to an individual who is starting out on their path to IFM certification will provide enduring impact in Debbie’s name and help support our mission of the widespread adoption of functional medicine. This is just as Debbie would have wanted.

 Meet the 2024 Debbie Sanstad Scholarship Recipient 

Congratulations Jeanine Wagner, MSN, FNP/AGACNP-BC! Ms. Wagner is a dedicated healthcare professional specializing as a family nurse practitioner with a post-master’s certificate in acute care gerontology, providing care in Temecula, California. Click here to learn more about this year's recipient. 

Debbie Sanstad Scholarship Details:

Who is this award for?  

  • In 2025, the Debbie Sanstad Scholarship will be open only to candidates living/practicing outside of the United States. 
  • Clinicians who are just beginning the path to functional medicine certification  

Total Awards Given Annually: 1  

What the award includes:   

  • Covers tuition for all IFM core curriculum (AFMCP + APMs), which can be applied towards the 100 hours of accredited functional medicine education required to qualify for certification  
    • Functional Medicine Certified Professional-Medical (FMCP-M)™ 
    • Functional Medicine Certified Professional (FMCP)™  
  • Annual International Conference (the year the scholarship is awarded)   
  • FMCP™ or FMCP-M™ Application Fee    
  • Certification Review Course Fee 

What the award does NOT include:   

  • Fees for CME credit hours 
  • Travel expenses to IFM’s in-person Annual International Conference  
  • IFM Membership 
  • FMCP™ or FMCP-M™ Written Test Fee  
Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for the Debbie Sanstad Scholarship, applicants: 


The new Functional Medicine Certification Program™ will launch in 2026. If awarded the scholarship, you will be enrolled into the appropriate certification program then. In the meantime, you can enroll in IFM courses, and those hours will count toward the 100 hours of accredited functional medicine education required for certification.  
Application:

We are no longer accepting 2024 Debbie Sanstad scholarship applications. 

If you applied, please refer to your confirmation email on the expected date you will hear back from our scholarship team. In the meantime, please reach out to scholarships@ifm.org with any questions.

 
 

 

It is an honor to have this scholarship in my mother’s name. She was always a diligent and hard-working employee who thrived on being with a wonderful team of people at IFM. We hope the recipient of this scholarship will remember to work hard, find compassion for patients, and spur not only themselves but also peers toward embodying a holistic health lifestyle.

- Nikki Groth
Debbie Sanstad's Daughter

Debbie’s Functional Medicine Story

Longtime Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) team member Debbie Sanstad was a genuine person who positively impacted everyone she encountered and who earnestly dedicated her working hours to advancing IFM’s mission. Debbie learned a lot about functional medicine through her time at IFM and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, in addition to conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Debbie learned how to incorporate functional medicine approaches to her cancer, and later went into remission.

In January of 2019, Debbie found out that she had advanced metastatic bone cancer. Debbie again incorporated functional medicine into her treatment. Thanks to her optimism and determination, Debbie was able to spend twice as long with family and friends than would normally be expected. In February of 2020, Debbie passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her family strongly believes it was functional medicine and the related conscious choices that graciously allowed them an additional four years with her. It is IFM’s honor to be able to keep her memory alive while supporting future functional medicine practitioners and the widespread adoption of functional medicine.

Please email info@ifm.org with questions.

Stay Informed

To be notified of all our scholarship opportunities, please fill out the form below.
For questions, contact scholarships@ifm.org.