ESSENTIALS OF NUTRITION EDUCATION IN MEDICAL-SCHOOLS - A NATIONAL CONSENSUS

Medical students of the American Medical Student Association establish ed the Nutrition Curriculum Project (MCP) with the goals of ensuring t hat adequate nutrition information be taught to medical students; ensu ring that there be a framework for integration of nutrition topics at all levels of medical education; and formulating and disseminating ess ential information for nutrition assessment and management in clinical practice. As a first step, the NCP assemble a ten-member advisory boa rd to develop a comprehensive list of nutrition topics deemed essentia l for the adequate training of physicians. The advisory board consiste d of medical and nutrition educators, physicians, and clinical special ists representing major U.S. professional nutrition organizations. The NCP's director coordinated the decision-making process through its th ree iterations. Final accord on 92 topics was achieved with unanimous approval of the board in 1994. These topics, organized in five major c ategories, are offered as a guide to the reform of nutrition education and as the basis of a satisfactory nutrition curriculum.