Clinical Nutrition Education in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Questionnaire Investigation.
- VernacularTitle:卒前医学教育における病態栄養教育の実態 アンケート調査結果から
- Author:
Akiharu WATANABE
;
Seiji SAITO
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
clinical nutrition;
nutrition education;
undergraduate medical education;
integrated curriculum;
problem-based learning;
nutrition-related questions on the national medical board examination
- From:Medical Education
1999;30(2):99-104
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
To improve doctors' understanding of dietary and nutritional therapy, clinical nutrition must be taught during undergraduate medical education. Using questionnaires given to every medical university in Japan, we examined how clinical nutrition education has been adopted into their curricula. Only 9 (12.9%) of 70 universities have adopted this topic as a cultural or professional subject. Many other universities are performing nonintegrated nutrition education by teaching nutrition-related items in basic and clinical subjects. Although many nutrition-related topics are included in the Essentials for the National Medical Board Examination published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only 1% to 5% of the 320 to 330 questions appearing on the national medical board examination are nutritionrelated. The present report suggests that the nutritional knowledge of doctors and medical students is not sufficient. We believe that national guidelines for problem-based nutritional education as part of an integrated curriculum must be established. The present situation of nutrition education in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe are also discussed.
