K. Lazarus, NUTRITION PRACTICES OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS AFTER EDUCATION BY A PHYSICIAN NUTRITION SPECIALIST, The American journal of clinical nutrition, 65, 1997, pp. 2007-2009
Although nutrition is an important part of medical care, nutrition edu
cation is not provided in most training programs for physicians in the
United States, resulting in limited nutrition knowledge among physici
ans and limited nutritional care of patients. A nutrition education pr
ogram was provided by a physician nutrition specialist in a family pra
ctice residency program. For 6 mo, the nutrition specialist provided t
he family physicians with recommendations for nutritional care for the
ir patients. The effects of the education program on residents' and fa
culty physicians' nutrition knowledge and nutritional patient care, pa
tients' perceptions of the importance of nutrition, and physicians' di
etary patterns were determined by pre- and postintervention nutrition
exams for physicians and patients, patient questionnaires about attitu
des toward nutrition, chart reviews, and physicians' diet records. The
nutrition education program resulted in an increase in physicians' nu
trition knowledge scores (P < 0.01) and an increase in the frequency w
ith which physicians discussed nutrition and recommended diets for the
ir patients (P < 0.05). This suggests that nutrition education by a ph
ysician nutrition specialist within a family practice residency progra
m can be effective in increasing nutritional care provided to patients
.