A program to improve the integration of nutrition education throughout the four years at St. Louis University School of Medicine is described. Interest in nutrition by the students and the faculty led to the development of a required course given in the freshman medical school year. (MLW)

An assessment of the clinical nutritional knowledge of third- and fourth-year medical students and practicing physicians revealed that overall nutritional knowledge is modest and that knowledge is highest among topics which have received the most publicity in the popular press. Methodology and specific findings are included. (JT)

The value of a critical analysis of the process of education in family practice residency programs is demonstrated. Such an analysis is seen as maybe the most valuable aspect in the evaluation of any curriculum, considering the limitations of time, resources, and demands on family practice teachers. (MLW)

Describes and evaluates a successful one-quarter 26-curriculum hour course in clinical nutrition, which focuses on practical aspects of diet prescriptions, dietary customs, attitudes, and behavior modifications. Required for sophomore medical students and dietetic interns, the course in taught by faculty from several disciplines and includes…

The American Academy of Family Practice requires that nutrition be taught to residents throughout their three-year residencies, although it does not specify a block of nutrition instruction. The nutrition knowledge of residents in eight family practice residencies in California were examined. (MLW)

A study of three hospitals' family medicine residents' knowledge of and interest in nutrition education revealed large gaps in residents' knowledge of nutritional aspects of certain conditions likely to arise in general practice. Previous medical school nutrition courses had little influence on residents' perceived knowledge. (MSE)

It is important that nutrition education be made part of the regular and postgraduate curriculum in all medical schools. The medical student should be provided training in nutrition and dietetics, both as part of the basic science syllabus and of the clinical aspects as they apply to disease states. (MSE)

At the Center for Biomedical Education at the City University of New York, nutrition is integrated into the chemistry-biochemistry sequence of a six-year B.S.-M.D. program. Students perform an actual analysis of a sample of their own food, learning basic techniques and concepts, and also carry on experiments with rats on other diets. (Editor/LBH)

Medical educators must make every effort to achieve an adequate level of nutrition education for all health professionals. Medical schools should adopt a basic, required curriculum including biochemical and physiological aspects of nutrients, a clinical nutrition program for prevention of health hazards, and a course in nutritional assessment.…

A study of student and faculty support for increasing educational opportunities in nutrition at the Medical University of South Carolina suggests that more appropriate education in nutrition depends less on curriculum development and more on demonstrating to students and faculty that present efforts are not producing the desired results. (JMD)

Medical faculty, practicing physicians, medical students, and dietitians/nutritionists rated nutritional concepts as to their importance for inclusion in the medical school curricula and indicated the best method for accomplishing this. Based on this study, recommendations are made regarding nutrition education in the medical school curricula.…

A self-instructional health education program that utilizes a slide-tape device was studied to determine whether it could be educationally effective in an ambulatory clinical setting without being an inconvenience to patients. Infant and child nutrition was chosen as the topic to be used in the waiting room of a pediatric clinic. (JMD)