Abstract
Setting and participants: Third- and fourth-year medical students at medical schools in the United States (Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and Southern regions)
Description: This is an interdisciplinary, partially synchronous elective for advanced undergraduate medical students covering core topics in nutrition across the lifespan from both clinical and historical perspectives. The syllabus consists of 17 free-standing modules with pre-class preparation (articles, podcasts), lecture topics or discussion questions, and 3 student research projects. Having been piloted at one institution, the syllabus is being taught at other medical schools to determine the feasibility of implementation in diverse settings, from large academic centers to smaller regional campuses.
Evaluation: The pilot course (Pitt IRB# STUDY22010051) was evaluated by a post-course survey of attitudes; students self-reported improved knowledge of both clinical skills (calculating total parenteral nutrition [TPN], counseling about nutrition labels) and historical content (the racialized history of diabetes mellitus, the origins of fad diets). The current course (Pitt IRB# STUDY22100100) is being evaluated at all sites by pre- and post-course surveys of both subjective attitudes and objective knowledge, using questions adapted from the secondary literature. Preliminary data from both studies suggest that students desire more education on nutrition and that this curriculum improves both clinical skills and historical knowledge relating to high-yield topics such as obesity and hypertension.
Discussion / reflection / lessons learned: Both patients and trainees are clamoring for more attention to nutrition. This curriculum seeks to answer that call. It is innovative not just in its content–which ranges from the history of infant formula to the latest refeeding guidelines in anorexia nervosa–but also in its method of delivery. Class can be partially or wholly online for students who may be at satellite campuses, traveling during a non-clinical block, or isolating for health reasons. Because the range of topics is so broad, the course directors have partnered with local experts such as registered dieticians and bariatric surgeons for guest lectures. Such interdisciplinary collaboration is just as important in medical education as in clinical practice and provides a humbling reminder of just how deep the field of dietetics is compared to what is typically offered in medical training.
