Capacity Building in Nutrition Sciences: Revisiting the Curricula for Medical Professionals

The current curricula for students in medical schools and other specialties (registered dieticians, nurses, oral health specialists, physiotherapists, etc.) do not provide enough opportunities to gain knowledge on the mechanisms through which micro and macro-nutrients interact with one another and their role in maintaining optimal body functions, what interferes with these mechanisms, and how to integrate this knowledge into prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, tools for nutritional assessment, analysis, counseling and treatment are not well-integrated within the training curricula.

The goal of this conference is to revisit the current curricula for medical doctors and relevant professionals, and to explore means to better train professionals to implement the array of preventative and therapeutic nutrition interventions through the health system. The questions this symposium will address include: is there a consensus on integrating basic and applied nutrition into the general curriculum and if so, at which stages of training and in what depth? What is the role of nutrition throughout medical specialties? What are current educational models and how do they address needs? This convening will review the current practices and their strength and weaknesses, showcase promising initiatives and propose new directions for training the future generation of medical practitioners.