Nutrition Module: Addressing the Nutrition Education Gap in Undergraduate Medical Curricula via a Novel Approach

Abstract

Introduction Despite the known importance of nutrition on health outcomes, most medical curricula do not dedicate sufficient time to nutrition topics. Many barriers prevent the successful integration of nutrition education into existing curricula. Methods We created an online nutrition module to educate students about foundational nutritional topics. To assess the efficacy of the module and improve integration of knowledge, students were asked to take a pre-assessment and a post-assessment immediately before and after completion of the module. Two months after completion, students were asked to take a follow-up assessment to assess long-term retention of the information covered in the module. Results A total of 15 medical students completed all the requirements of the nutrition module (including pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments). The mean percent correct on the pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments were 67.5%, 87.0%, and 83.5%, respectively. The absolute difference between the pre- and post-module scores was 3.8 points (19.0%, t = 9.2, p < 0.0001). The absolute difference between the mean post- and follow-up scores was − 0.93 points (4.7%, t = − 1.7, p = 0.1154). Discussion Most medical students do not feel adequately prepared to counsel patients on nutrition. Development of an accessible, online nutrition module was effective in teaching medical students about nutritional topics and in retaining the information over time. Advantages of the module include flexibility for students to choose when to complete the learning, brief (< 1 h) concise material, and the ability for educators to quickly update the module content.