• Anita Ganti, Alice Fornari, Stephanie M Izard, and Matthew J Whitson.
• From the Division of General Internal Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York.
• South. Med. J. 2024 Jun 1; 117 (6): 330335330-335.

ObjectivesNutrition counseling is necessary for the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases. US survey data demonstrate that 61% of Internal Medicine (IM) residents receive little to no nutrition training. The objective of our study was to develop a curriculum to increase IM resident comfort and ability in conducting a nutritional assessment.MethodsCategorical IM residents at a large academic medical center participated in a curriculum that included a lecture, a small-group discussion, and a skills exercise. Residents completed pre- and posttest surveys that evaluated their attitudes and comfort level with nutritional assessment.ResultsEighty percent (84/105) of the residents participated in the curriculum and 48% (40/84) of them completed both pre- and postsession surveys. Residents who considered themselves moderately to extremely comfortable completing a nutritional assessment increased after the program (27.5% to 87.5%, P < 0.0001). The proportion of those who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "Nutritional counseling should be included in any routine appointment, just like diagnosis and treatment," increased from 62.50% to 80.00% (P = 0.012). The proportion of residents who considered lack of individual knowledge to be a barrier for nutrition counseling decreased from 65.79% to 42.11% (P = 0.0126).ConclusionsThis curriculum was successful in increasing IM resident comfort with conducting a nutritional assessment.

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