The Functional Professional Clinical Development Programme
The only structured, face-to-face training in the UK that takes you from the Functional Medicine model to confident clinical practice.
Autumn 2026 cohort. Ten places only. Founding cohort pricing.
Ten-minute appointments were never going to fix complex illness.
You went into medicine to make people well, not to firefight symptoms in slots that run out before the real conversation has even started.
Some of this might sound familiar –
- You are managing one set of symptoms while having to ignore the rest.
- You reach for symptom control when what you really want is to get to the root cause.
- Your complex and chronic fatigue patients keep struggling, and you have neither the time nor the tools to work out why.
- You are sold on the Functional Medicine model, but you are not sure where to start in real clinical practice.
- You have trained with the IFM or in Lifestyle Medicine, yet you still do not feel ready to see patients.
If you recognise yourself here, you are in good company.
Since 2020, Dr Sarah has trained and mentored doctors from a wide range of specialities, and found that even those with IFM certification usually needed a good deal of practical training before they felt confident practising Functional Medicine. Closing that gap is exactly why this programme exists.
The Functional Medicine model is not the hard part. Applying it is.
Functional Medicine works when it is done properly, with enough time, the right testing, and a clear method for turning what you find into a plan that works.
Most training gives you the theory. Very little shows you what to actually do when a real patient is sitting in front of you, especially the complex and controversial cases you will inevitably meet and are rarely taught how to handle.
This programme gives you a repeatable system, the clinical reasoning behind it, and the supported practice to make it your own.
What you get on our Professional Clinical Development Programme
Twelve days of face-to-face teaching
taught exclusively by Dr Sarah, in a small group of no more than ten doctors.
The whole Functional Medicine curriculum
taught case by case, from the foundations right through to the complex and controversial presentation
Over 100 hours of supported learning
in the room, alongside colleagues who understand the work (and no chance to leave the video running while you nip for a snack)
The Functional Professional Consultation and Planning System
the structured method every clinician in our own clinic is trained in
A real patient case study
that you manage yourself with Dr Sarah’s support, so you leave with real-time experience and not just a folder of notes
Functional test ordering and interpretation
nutritional planning, and a practical guide to supplementation
Time with representatives
from the major UK testing and supplement companies
A library of resources
you can start using with your patients straight away
A clear framework
for your continued learning once the course has finished
The range of conditions you will be equipped to manage
Dr Sarah brings more than twenty years in the NHS and work with thousands of Functional Medicine patients into every teaching day. You will learn her approach to the conditions she manages in practice, including:
Autoimmunity, using nutrition, lifestyle-based approaches and Low Dose Naltrexone to support immune modulation
Gut health restoration, from IBS and SIBO to inflammatory bowel disease and food sensitivities and intolerances
Cardiometabolic syndrome and Weight Management, including diabetes, weight gain, fatty liver disease, and a structured approach to GLP-1 medication that uses the smallest effective dose alongside effective diet and lifestyle change
Women’s health, including menopause, bio identical HRT, PMOS, fertility support and RED-S
Thyroid health, including thyroid autoimmunity and hormone metabolism
ME, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Post-Infection Fatigue, working through nutritional deficiencies, chronic infection, hormonal imbalance, toxicity, autoimmunity and mitochondrial dysfunction
Infection-associated fatigue and neuropsychiatric presentations, including PANS and PANDAS, chronic Lyme and co-infections, and MSIDS
Neurological disorders, including functional neurological disorders, support for seizure disorders, and autoimmune conditions such as MS and Parkinson’s
Mould and mycotoxin illness, including CIRS and mould allergy, Histamine sensitivity and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
Toxin avoidance and detox support, including multiple chemical sensitivity, mycotoxins and heavy metals
Cognitive decline and dementia, with approaches informed by Dr Dale Bredesen’s ReCODE and PreCODE protocols
This is the depth most Functional Medicine courses never reach, and the reason other practitioners send their hardest cases to Dr Sarah.
Autumn 2026 cohort
This will be our first trainee cohort, and founding places come with a 20% discount.
Founding cohort fee – £7,995. This covers all teaching and course materials, a nutritious lunch, and refreshments and snacks throughout.
The programme runs as four three-day blocks, Thursday to Saturday, across a five-month period. Each day starts at 9am and finishes at 5pm.
See the full curriculum first.
We do not publish the curriculum openly, but we share it in full with potential candidates.
Join Dr Sarah for a live webinar HERE and Q&A on July 10th at 6pm. She will walk you through the whole course, answer your questions, and show you the complete curriculum so you can decide whether it is right for you.
Who we are
Dr Sarah Davies, Functional Medicine Specialist
Since 2016, Dr Sarah has built and led Functional Nexus, one of the UK’s leading multidisciplinary Functional Medicine clinics. Alongside more than twenty years in the NHS, she has worked with thousands of Functional Medicine patients and specialises in complex and chronic illness, including autoimmunity and Chronic Fatigue. Her work with the most difficult cases makes her a point of tertiary referral for other Functional Medicine practitioners. One of the early UK graduates of the Institute for Functional Medicine’s Certification Programme, she lectures nationally and personally trains, supervises and mentors the doctors in her clinic. This programme grew directly out of that mentoring work.
Joanne Grobbelaar, Strategic Business Development Director
After years in a high-pressure corporate world, Joanne built her own business consulting and coaching practice, and has spent nearly two decades supporting business owners, leaders and elite performers to stay focused and develop the habits that help them succeed. She works with clients across the UK and the USA, from one-to-one mentorship through to whole boardrooms and leadership teams, and runs her leadership programme, The Boardroom, for female leaders from across different sectors. Joanne is a certified health coach, with training from Dr Mark Hyman, Dr Daniel Amen, Dr Andrew Weil, and other esteemed educators, bringing that combination of business and health coaching to the leadership of Functional Professional.
Dr Sarah and Joanne have worked together for over five years, and lead Functional Professional side by side.
Ready to find out more?
There are two easy ways to take the next step.
Join the waitlist for the Autumn 2026 cohort HERE and we will be in touch with the curriculum and a conversation about whether the programme is right for you.
Or register for the live webinar HERE on July 10th and see it all for yourself.
