Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T10:02:46.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Human nutrition in medical practice: the training of doctors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Alan A. Jackson
Alan A. Jackson*
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton, Level C (113) West Wing, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
*
Corresponding author: Professor A. A. Jackson, fax +44 23 8079 4945, email iohn@soton.ac.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Nutritional advice from doctors and other health workers is held in high regard by the general public. It is important, therefore, to ensure that the advice given is sound and safe. Historically, the training in nutrition for the health professions has been piecemeal and selective. As a first step in the development of national standards, a core curriculum on nutrition for health professionals was developed as part of the National Nutrition Task Force. Designed for undergraduates, the curriculum sought to provide a standard for training which would ensure safe practice. The curriculum, which has been accepted by all undergraduate medical schools, identifies eighteen bullet points covering: the principles of nutritional science; public health nutrition; clinical nutrition and nutritional support. Postgraduate training for doctors is the responsibility of the Royal Colleges, who have formed an Intercollegiate Group on nutrition. This group has developed an intercollegiate foundation course in nutrition which lasts for 1 week and is offered at different centres around the country. Using the Intercollegiate Course as a base, individual Colleges are exploring how they might best develop the next level of training by identifying the educational needs for nutrition in different sub-specialities. There is some discussion as to whether it is timely to develop a defined clinical speciality in human nutrition. Within these developments, nutritionists and dietitians are identified as a resource to be called upon by other health professionals, and therefore it is important that in their own training they are suitably equipped to take on this challenge.

Keywords

CurriculumClinical specialityNutrition educationUndergraduatePostgraduate
Type
Education Group Lecture
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , May 2001 , pp. 257 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2001

References

British Nutrition Foundation (1983) Nutrition in Medical Education: Report of the BNF Task Force on Clinical Nutrition. London: British Nutrition Foundation.Google Scholar
de Almeida, MDV, Graca, P, Lappalainen, R, Giachetti, I, Kafatos, A, Remaut de Winter, AM & Kearney, JM (1997) Sources used and trusted by nationally-representative adults in the European Union for information on healthy eating. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, Suppl. 2, s16–s22.Google ScholarPubMed
Department of Health (1991) Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom. Report on Health and Social Subjects no. 41. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Department of Health (1992) The Health of the Nation: A Consultative Document for Health in England. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Education Committee of the General Medical Council (1993) Tomorrow's Doctors: Recommendations on Undergraduate Medical Education. London: General Medical Council.Google Scholar
Finch, S, Doyle, W, Lowe, C, Bates, CJ, Prentice, A, Smithers, G & Clarke, P (1998) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: People Aged 65 Years and Over. vol.1, Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Gregory, J, Collins, DL, Davies, PSW, Hughes, JM & Clarke, PC (1995) National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Children aged 1½–4½ Years. vol. 1, Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Gregory, J, Foster, K, Tyler, H & Wiseman, M (1990) The Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Gregory, J, Lowe, S, Bates, CJ, Prentice, A, Jackson, LV, Smithers, G, Wenlock, R & Farron, M (2000) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Young People Aged 4–18 Years. vol.1, Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Institute of European Food Studies (1999). A Pan-EU Survey on Consumer Attitudes to Physical Activity, Body Weight and Health. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities.Google Scholar
Jackson, AA (1996) Nutrition in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 55, 775–781.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lennard-Jones, JE (1992) A Positive Approach to Nutrition as Treatment. London: King's Fund Centre.Google Scholar
Nutrition Task Force (1994 a) Eat Well: An Action Plan from the Nutrition Task Force to Achieve the Health of the Nation Targets on Diet and Nutrition. London: Department of Health.Google Scholar
Nutrition Task Force (1994 b) Nutrition: Core Curriculum for Nutrition in the Education of Health Professionals. London: Department of Health.Google Scholar
Shenkin, A (2000) Unconventional approaches to nutritional medicine. Conventional doctors need more insight into nutritional medicine and can now get training in it. British Medical Journal 320, 1538.Google ScholarPubMed
Stratford Executive Group (1996) Nutrition for Medical Students: Nutrition in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum. London: Department of Health.Google Scholar
Townsend, P & Davison, N (1992) Inequalities in Health: the Black Report. London: Penguin.Google Scholar