An Interprofessional Nutrition Education Session for Senior Medical Students on Evidence-Based Diet Patterns and Practical Nutrition Tips

Abstract

Introduction: Dietary factors are recognized as a major contributor to the global burden of disease, and the obesity epidemic continues to be a major public health problem. Patients rely on doctors for dietary advice and to serve as role models for health behaviors. However, nutrition content is significantly underrepresented in medical school curricula. Methods: We created an interactive session to address this gap during the ambulatory medicine rotation for senior medical students and delivered it as a 90-to 120-minute interactive monthly didactic session. We focused on reviewing evidence-based diet patterns for weight loss and hypertension and on use of practical tools for diet assessment and counseling. Immediately and 1 month after delivery, we administered a knowledge and confidence assessment survey to evaluate the session impact. Results: We incorporated the session into the regular didactic time of the clerkship. Sixty-six students attended over an 8-month period, of whom 42 completed the survey. Immediately and 1 month after delivery, participants reported statistically significant improvements (p < .001) in their confidence in the domains measured. Participants' knowledge scores increased immediately and 1 month after the session compared to before participation. Discussion: We delivered a single recurring seminar on diet patterns and practical tips that was well received by fourth-year medical students during the ambulatory medicine clerkship. The seminar was a practical and interactive way of delivering important nutrition content to the medical school curriculum, and we demonstrated retention of confidence and knowledge of the delivered content.

Evaluating nutrition education interventions for medical students: A rapid review

“…Culinary medicine was utilised in seven studies 23–25,27,29,31,32 . Dietary counselling was covered in six of the identified interventions 19–21,24,28,29 . Most of the studies incorporated a combination of content areas.…”

“…Instructors varied and with some involving a combination of professions, including dietitians, 19–22,24,26,27,30,31 physicians, 20,21,27,31,32 chefs, 27,29,32 and psychologists 20,22 . Pang et al 27 delivered a 6‐week hands‐on culinary and nutrition course, with each session delivered jointly by a physician, dietitian and chef.…”

“…25 Interventions either allowed students of all year groups to participate 22,25,32 or were specific to year 19,20,24,27,28,31 and clinical groups. 18,21,23,26,29,30 The median duration of all the interventions was 11 h, ranging from 90 min 19 to 75 h. 26 However, three studies did not report the length of the student-led component of the course. [29][30][31] Content areas and teaching methods Nine of the interventions addressed specific patient populations.…”

“…[23][24][25]27,29,31,32 Dietary counselling was covered in six of the identified interventions. [19][20][21]24,28,29 Most of the studies incorporated a combination of content areas. For example, Jacob et al 24 delivered a single day culinary laboratory where students had to identify certain micro-and macronutrients that would benefit a patient case study and consider the metabolic pathways and food sources for these nutrients before cooking a tailored recipe.…”

“…Most interventions included non‐medical professionals as instructors ( n = 11); however, only four were explicit in utilising IPL 19,21,24,27 . The latest BEME report on the effects of IPL found that it improves the effectiveness of educational interventions 36 .…”