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Physician Nutrition Education Program: Adding Value to Patient Care by Increasing Physician Expertise in Nutrition
Author(s) -
Hicks Kristen K.,
Irion Morgan K.,
Murano Peter S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.896.3
Subject(s) - nutrition education , medicine , medical education , continuing medical education , clinical nutrition , family medicine , continuing education , patient care , nursing , gerontology
The Physician Nutrition Education Program (PNEP) was developed as a two phase initiative to address the current lack of nutrition education opportunities for physicians. Phase 1 examined nutrition use in practice and obtained physician feedback from an online survey, while in phase 2 we focused on nutrition webinar development, based in part on Phase 1 information collected. Each webinar featured research‐based nutrition topics of importance, available to physicians for continuing medical education (CME) credits through the Texas Medical Association “On‐Demand” library. First, a “Physician Opinion Survey” was developed and validated to determine current nutrition knowledge and practices of Texas physicians. Using this information, the webinars were constructed to increase specific knowledge areas, and to provide resources to incorporate nutrition discussions with patients. Webinars also highlighted the importance of collaborating with a Registered Dietitian (RD) to communicate nutrition concepts. An online survey of 20 questions was distributed through medical contacts and listser vs across Texas. Our sample, n=54, included 44 MD's, 6 DO's and 4 MD/PhD's in over 15 different areas of practice. Most respondents (89%) usually/always or sometimes see patients who require that the physician to have a background knowledge in nutrition. Furthermore, only (46%) usually/always or (35%) sometimes engage patients in a manner that requires nutrition knowledge; whereas only 15% felt highly confident in performing nutrition counseling to their patients. The majority of respondents (56%) have never attended a nutrition focused seminar, webinar or conference. However, 81% of physicians indicated that they would be interested in learning by participating in a nutrition education webinar. In conclusion, the need for nutrition knowledge was high in our study sample, creating a demand for nutrition topics in physician continuing education. We hypothesize that providing nutrition education opportunities to physicians via webinars will increase their knowledge of nutrition, improve confidence when providing nutrition counseling to patients, and facilitate referrals to RDs all which may ultimately decrease recurring visits and improve overall health outcomes in patients. Support or Funding Information Funding support provided by the Jane Elizabeth Watkins Cohen Endowed Scholarship.