After taking charge of the undergraduate nutrition curriculum for medical students in 2018, AfN formed the Interprofessional Working Group for Medical Education (AfN IPG) representing professionals in medicine, nutrition and dietetics. These representatives worked together to form this new curriculum for physicians.
The program develops knowledge in eight essential areas of nutrition: nutrition and hydration in health and disease, nutrition screening and assessment, effect of nutritional status on disease, malnutrition (undernourishment), malnutrition ( obesity and metabolic syndrome), specific dietary needs, hydration and nutrition in health promotion and disease prevention.
Write about the curriculum in ‘BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health’, the association specifies: “Given the current extraordinary prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases in the UK and the essential role that nutrition plays in the treatment and rehabilitation of disease, it is now imperative that the fundamental principles of nutrition are integrated into the basic training of doctors and assessed as part of the basic training of doctors. new MP in 2024.
“Physicians do not need to become nutritionists or dietitians, but must be equipped to confidently combat malnutrition in all its forms. Physicians, who will see thousands of patients throughout their careers, play a role key in helping to identify, treat and monitor nutrition-related conditions, as well as in the provision of preventative medications.
“Future doctors should therefore be able to discuss factors such as achieving a healthy weight in an informed and sensitive manner, as well as having the knowledge to refer patients for additional nutritional support where appropriate. There is now a clear opportunity for medical schools to distinguish themselves based on the integration of nutrition practice into holistic health care training to adequately prepare graduates with knowledge and skills in nutritional care , with the ultimate goal of improving patient care.
And after?
The association is aware that once teaching and teaching materials are integrated into programs, a formal and rigorous evaluation of the content taught must be developed.
“This will require faculty trained in nutrition to be involved in the development of these assessments,” the document states, “which are ultimately necessary to provide authentic assessment and produce competent physicians to use nutrition as a therapeutic option after graduation and throughout their careers.”
The paper also highlights the lack of professional role models trained in nutrition, which could create a barrier to adequate nutrition education in medical schools.
“Better utilization of allied health professionals, such as registered nutritionists (ANutr/RNutr), registered dietitians (RD), and nutrition-trained nurses and pharmacists within multidisciplinary teams during clinical and community training, provides the opportunity to improve both the interprofessional skills as well as the nutritional knowledge of future doctors,” That clarifies.
Background
There are numerous reports of insufficient nutrition education during medical training in the UK and internationally. The need to equip the next generation of doctors with better nutritional knowledge has already been documented by NutraIngredients.
Nutritank, a student-run clearinghouse on food, nutrition and lifestyle medicine, previously surveyed 244 medical students and found that 99% of respondents believed nutrition played a role in maintaining good health, 97.5% thought it played a role in the development of the disease. , 94.6% believed it played a role in disease management and 88% felt patients would expect them to understand nutrition as a physician.
A significant 91% said they would like to receive more nutrition education as part of their medical training.
The student hub also surveyed 142 junior doctors and found that 92% of participants thought patients expected them to understand nutrition as a doctor, but only 26% felt confident discussing nutrition .
Aggregated data from surveys and evaluations suggest Most UK medical students and doctors believe their nutrition training was inadequate, with over 70% saying they could identify less than two hours during their academic and clinical training.
Source: BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health
Jones G, Macaninch E, Mellor D et al.
“Putting nutrition education on the table: developing a curriculum to meet the needs of future doctors”
doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2022-000510
