Developments and challenges in family practice nutrition education for residents and practicing physicians: An overview of the North American experience
Km. Kolasa, Developments and challenges in family practice nutrition education for residents and practicing physicians: An overview of the North American experience, EUR J CL N, 53, 1999, pp. S89-S96
The history of nutrition education in family medicine residency training an
d continuing medical education (CME) in North America is briefly reviewed.
Past efforts have been successful in improving knowledge and attitudes towa
rd nutrition. Some of the barriers to physicians providing nutrition servic
es to their patients, such as poor reimbursement for those services, are la
rgely outside the domain of medical educators. However, the education and t
raining of family practice residents and practicing physicians in nutrition
has not yet fully matured. Strategies are needed that impact physician cou
nseling behaviors. Strengthening the content of certification examinations,
providing evidence that brief counseling strategies impact patient outcome
s, and role modeling counseling through multimedia delivery are three educa
tional strategies with potential.