Accepted Type
Dedicated Poster
Code
LP10 - 03
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Poster
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Student
Affiliation
Title
What Should Medical Students Learn About Nutrition? Evaluating the Quality of the University of Alberta's Medical Nutrition Curriculum
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Nutrition education in undergraduate medicine is insufficient. The purpose of this review was 1) map the nutrition concepts in years 1 and 2 at the University of Alberta medical school (UofA), 2) identify ideal nutrition curriculum content and 3) identify deficiencies of the UofA nutrition curriculum.
Methods
A literature review was conducted using search terms "medical education", "nutrition", and "curriculum." Selection criteria for review: Published since the year 2000; related to mandatory pre-clerkship education; specifically related to curriculum content; and pertaining to North American medical schools. The year 1 and 2 nutrition curriculum was mapped by searching all lecture learning objectives for nutrition keywords. Lectures containing nutrition concepts were reviewed. The nutrition concepts identified in the curriculum were compared to literature recommendations.
Results
Initial search identified 375 studies, 14 met the search criteria. There was no ideal nutrition curriculum for medical schools identified nor consensus on optimal nutrition knowledge. However, four themes were identified: i) nutrition should be incorporated longitudinally into medical education, ii) students are open to a variety of teaching methods; iii) multidisciplinary teaching methods are valuable; and iv) nutrition education should align with global recommendations for sustainable and health promoting dietary patterns. A 2002 compilation by the Curriculum Committee of the Nutrition Academic Award Program (NAA) contained the most comprehensive recommendations for a nutrition curriculum. A total of 107 recommended learning objectives based on this guide were compared to the UofA curriculum map. 58.0% were addressed completely, 18.7% were partially addressed, and 23.4% were not addressed.
Conclusion
The nutrition curriculum at the UofA medical school is adequate, however, 42% of the curriculum needs review based on the NAA curriculum. There is insufficient data on optimal nutrition education for medical students with no ideal unified curriculum identified.
Keyword 1
clinical nutrition
Keyword 2
medical education
Keyword 3
nutrition curriculum
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Curriculum
Curriculum
- Evaluation
- Quality improvement
Additional Theme (First choice)
Undergraduate
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Assessment
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Physician & Medical Student Health and Well-being
Authors
Presenter
Cassandra Warbeck
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
