Nutrition education should be 'on the menu' in every health worker's education - new study

All health professionals should study nutrition education curricula while in school to better support public health, a new paper suggests.

Nutrition researchers at Aston University, in collaboration with colleagues from other universities and leading nutrition groups, worked with the Association of Nutrition (AfN) to help develop a curriculum that could be rolled out to all undergraduate students. Medical Professional Course.

co-authored paper British Journal for Nutrition When BMJ nutrition, prevention and health It recommended that a new curriculum be developed for undergraduate students and rolled out nationwide with a view to subsequently being implemented in other healthcare courses.

The AfN Nutrition Undergraduate Curriculum for Physicians is designed to be presented to medical students as an integral part of their general undergraduate training and to show how nutrition is interrelated with the study of other systems. clarify and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of health and disease. .

Dr Duane Mellor, Clinical Dietitian and Senior Lecturer, Aston University Aston Medical School, and co-author of the paper, said:

“Nowadays, lifestyle-related health problems ranging from obesity to hypertension to type 2 diabetes to heart disease to some cancers can all be linked to diet across our community. , in hospitals, about one-third of the patients who come to the hospital are undernourished.

“Nutrition and diet play an important role in maintaining our health and managing disease, so it is important to educate future physicians and other health care professionals about the role of nutrition in patient care. is essential.”

This paper shows not only the needs and gaps in nutrition education, but how it can be included as part of an already very busy and content-heavy curriculum. based on areas of the curriculum that can even be used for nutrition.

This highlights that historically medical education, like that of many health professionals who do not specialize in nutrition, often teaches only a few hours on the subject.

Dr. Glennis Jones, deputy chief executive officer of the Nutrition Society, who led the curriculum development project and co-authored the recent paper, said:

“Nutrition is an important and modifiable determinant of health and well-being, so future medical and healthcare professionals should identify when nutrition may play a role in a patient’s condition and can be part of your care.

“The curriculum is not meant to make a doctor into a dietician or dietitian, but to think about whether nutrition can play a role and to have the confidence and knowledge of who, when and how to refer. It is intended to equip physicians with knowledge and skills, and if this is what you need, leave it to the experts in proper nutrition.”

Aston University is a pioneer in key areas of nutrition education for future healthcare professionals. As one of the few UK universities to have a nutritionist or nutritionist as part of their teaching team within their medical school, these skills are now being developed to help train other health professionals.

Dr. Mellor added:

“It is great to be able to highlight how nutrition is linked to basic scientific disciplines such as biochemistry, and how clinical skills can make patients think about changing their diet.

Aston University has also started working with the Nutrition Society to explore the potential need for nutrition education in other professions. This has led to the development of Core His Curriculum Outlines on Nutrition for various health professionals.

Dr. Meller also plans to work with colleagues to further develop nutrition education at Aston University, which will allow students in subjects such as optometry and pharmacy to learn about nutrition and how it applies to their field of specialization. It will give you a better understanding of how it affects you.

For more information on Aston Medical School, please visit our website.