Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of Experiential Learning of Nutrition Therapy on Medical Students

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Medical Science Educator Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite the recognition that nutrition is a critical component of health and disease, many medical schools struggle to incorporate nutrition education into their dense curriculum. We designed this study to determine whether a brief, experiential learning project would be an effective option for teaching this content. Medical students voluntarily enrolled in the study, agreeing to (1) attempt a 2-week “medically prescribed” diet and (2) participate in small group lunch discussions related to their diet experience. Data on student perception of nutrition in medicine was collected through validated surveys. Custom surveys were designed to capture student confidence in using nutrition counseling, while qualitative analysis of lunch discussions revealed themes of experiential learning. Participants reported an overall positive sentiment and named the most impactful learning component as actively attempting the diet. Student participants showed a variety of adherence to their assigned diet, yet as a cohort demonstrated increased confidence over their non-participant peers in the use of nutrition counseling in a clinical setting. In addition, diet participants demonstrated an increased perception of the importance of physician efficacy and the physician–patient relationship in the broader landscape of nutrition in patient care (compared to the control group). This study demonstrates the educational value of a short, immersive, extracurricular opportunity in bolstering an already demanding undergraduate medical education curriculum.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Khandelwal S, Zemore SE, Hemmerling A. Nutrition education in internal medicine residency programs and predictors of residents’ dietary counseling practices. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2018;5:2382120518763360.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Danek RL, Berlin KL, Waite GN, Geib RW. Perceptions of nutrition education in the current medical school curriculum. Fam Med. 2017;49(10):803–6.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lockwood JH, Sabharwal RK, Danoff D, Whitcomb ME. Quality improvement in medical students’ education: the AAMC medical school graduation questionnaire. Med Educ. 2004;38(3):234–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Vetter ML, Herring SJ, Sood M, Shah NR, Kalet AL. What do resident physicians know about nutrition? An evaluation of attitudes, self-perceived proficiency and knowledge. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008;27(2):287–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Adams KM, Kohlmeier M, Zeisel SH. Nutrition education in U.S. medical schools: latest update of a national survey. Acad Med. 2010;85(9):1537–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Adams KM, Butsch WS, Kohlmeier M. The state of nutrition education at U.S. medical schools. J Biomed Educ. 2015;2015:e357627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Nutrition Education in U.S. Medical schools. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US). 1985.

  8. Eisenberg DM, Burgess JD. Nutrition education in an era of global obesity and diabetes: thinking outside the box. Acad Med. 2015;90(7):854–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Schlair S, Hanley K, Gillespie C, Disney L, Kalet A, Darby PC, et al. How medical students’ behaviors and attitudes affect the impact of a brief curriculum on nutrition counseling. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2012;44(6):653–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Conroy MB, Delichatsios HK, Hafler JP, Rigotti NA. Impact of a preventive medicine and nutrition curriculum for medical students. Am J Prev Med. 2004;27(1):77–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bass Iii PF, Stetson BA, Rising W, Wesley GC, Ritchie CS. Development and evaluation of a nutrition and physical activity counseling module for first-year medical students. Med Educ Online. 2004;9(1):4359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vallance JK, Wylie M, MacDonald R. Medical students’ self-perceived competence and prescription of patient-centered physical activity. Prev Med. 2009;48(2):164–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Stanford FC, Durkin MW, Stallworth JR, Powell CK, Poston MB, Blair SN. Factors that influence physicians’ and medical students’ confidence in counseling patients about physical activity. J Prim Prev. 2014;35(3):193–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wurdinger SD, Carlson JA. Teaching for experiential learning: five approaches that work. R&L Education. 2009.

  15. Hojat M, Louis DZ, Markham FW, Wender R, Rabinowitz C, Gonnella JS. Physicians’ empathy and clinical outcomes for diabetic patients. Acad Med. 2011;86(3):359–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Del Canale S, Louis DZ, Maio V, Wang X, Rossi G, Hojat M, et al. The relationship between physician empathy and disease complications: an empirical study of primary care physicians and their diabetic patients in Parma. Italy Acad Med. 2012;87(9):1243–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Neumann M, Edelhäuser F, Tauschel D, Fischer MR, Wirtz M, Woopen C, et al. Empathy decline and its reasons: a systematic review of studies with medical students and residents. Acad Med. 2011;86(8):996–1009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. McGaghie WC, Van Horn L, Fitzgibbon M, Telser A, Thompson JA, Kushner RF, et al. Development of a measure of attitude toward nutrition in patient care. Am J Prev Med. 2001;20(1):15–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hojat M, Gonnella JS, Mangione S, Nasca TJ, Veloski JJ, Erdmann JB, et al. Empathy in medical students as related to academic performance, clinical competence and gender. Med Educ. 2002;36(6):522–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Yardley S, Teunissen PW, Dornan T. Experiential learning: transforming theory into practice. Med Teach. 2012;34(2):161–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hark LA, Deen D. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: interprofessional education in nutrition as an essential component of medical education. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7):1104–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Seth Overla for assistance with data analysis.

Funding

This work was supported by an Education Scholarship Grant from the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH, 45267, USA

    Heather R. Christensen, Aaron M. Marshall & Joanna Rebitski

Authors
  1. Heather R. Christensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aaron M. Marshall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joanna Rebitski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather R. Christensen.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

This work was designated non-human subjects research by the IRB at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Informed Consent

Participants gave consent after being fully informed about their voluntary participation in the study as a whole, the dietary modifications (to which adherence was optional), and the fact that participation would not impact their academic career in any fashion (and that they could cease participation at any time).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Christensen, H.R., Marshall, A.M. & Rebitski, J. Impact of Experiential Learning of Nutrition Therapy on Medical Students. Med.Sci.Educ. 33, 499–505 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-023-01771-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-023-01771-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation