Premium
The assessment and manipulation of personal diet: an undergraduate practical in human nutrition
Author(s) -
WHARTON B. A.,
MOORE VANESSA,
WHARTON PAMELA
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1985.tb01342.x
Subject(s) - medical education , medicine , psychology
Summary. The Department of Paediatrics at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia offers to medical undergraduates an optional course in nutrition and growth. This paper describes the practical experiences offered in dietary assessment and manipulation which was one component of the course, together with an assessment of its value by the students and the authors. Generally, it seemed that the component had been successful but three changes might be considered: although hand analysis of crude dietary data to determine nutrient intakes is a useful exercise, computer analysis should also be included; the principles of dietary manipulation (in effect, the principles of therapeutic dietetics) will require more emphasis; the students should make a detailed analysis of a patient's diet as well as their own. Regarding the nutrition and growth course as a whole: assessment of clinical skills would probably benefit from the same structured approach as used in the dietetic assessment; a preliminary assessment of the students' nutritional knowledge at the start of the course should be incorporated.