Integrating Nutrition into Clinical Medicine: The Role of Health Professionals as Change Agents

The connection between diet and patient health is unequivocal, yet nutrition-based interventions in medical practice remain significantly underutilized. The aim of this course is for you to understand the health and economic consequences of the lack of nutrition education and practice in medicine, and to demonstrate the unique potential for physicians and other health care professionals to serve as change agents for effectively integrating nutrition into medical care. To achieve this aim, we will: Examine the key evidence that links diet to both personal and planetary health. Review the current status of nutrition education and practice in the United States. Explore barriers and feasible solutions to greater incorporation of nutrition in medical practice.
You will learn the foundations of clinical nutrition science and healthy, sustainable diets through condensed, interactive online modules. We will build on this foundation with class dialog, which will emphasize practical strategies for leveraging the role of nutrition in patient care. Finally, as a capstone to your learning, you will prepare and present a plan for making two interventions: 1) a personal change in your own diet and; 2) a plan for making a nutrition-focused systems change in your own (or anticipated future) clinical/work environment.