(P04-012-23) Hungry for More? An Assessment of Nutrition Education in Geisinger’s Total Health Curriculum

Objectives: A national survey of nutrition education in US medical schools indicates that most fall short of providing students with adequate training, thus impacting their ability as future physicians to provide nutritional counseling (1). The National Academy of Sciences recommends a minimum of 25 hours of nutrition instruction throughout medical school (2) and the American Society of Clinical Nutrition suggests 37 to 44 hours (3). In this study, we sought to assess and quantify nutrition education content in Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s (GCSOM) Total Health Curriculum to establish if recommended minimum instruction hours are being met.

Methods: Using recommended undergraduate medical education nutrition competencies (1), we established 73 nutrition search terms and assessed the 4-year Total Health Curriculum for nutrition content. Using these search terms, we reviewed 4,374 learning objectives (LOs) to generate a curricular map and quantify nutrition-related course content using time estimates of required reading assignments and pre-recorded lecture materials. In total, 188 LOs met search criteria and were included in the study.

Results: During the 2021-2023 academic year, roughly 14 hours of didactic instruction were focused on nutrition. The Integrated Science Course, which includes Case-Based Learning, and the Physician and Patient-Centered Care course accounted for 10.25 hours and 10 minutes of dedicated nutrition education time in the preclinical phase, respectively. In the clinical phase, the pediatric clerkship accounted for 3 hours. These results do not account for informal nutrition instruction gained through independent learning, extracurricular activities, or clinical interactions.

Conclusions: The 14 hours spent on nutrition education at GCSOM fall short of national recommendations with nutrition instruction predominating in the preclinical phase and centered on the basic sciences. Additionally, nutrition content is not longitudinal, with gaps between formal preclinical and clinical instruction and a lack of focus on chronic disease prevention. These shortcomings are not unique to GCSOM’s medical curriculum and warrant deeper qualitative investigation to identify barriers and facilitators.

Funding Sources: Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine