Continuing Medical Education in nutrition

Abstract

Surveys show that practicing physicians believe that nutrition is important in the care of their patients but feel inadequately trained to provide optimal nutrition counseling. Even if they receive good training in the preclinical years, the interest and enthusiasm of medical students for nutrition assessment and counseling rapidly diminishes if they do not receive reinforcement from their clinical house officers and faculty mentors. Continuing Medical Education (CME) in the area of nutrition is therefore essential for both practicing physicians and faculty teaching in medical schools or residency programs. This article provides examples of the types and formats of current CME offerings in nutrition and obesity care, describes the strengths and weaknesses of various CME programs available, and offers recommendations for the development of future CME curricula in the areas of nutrition and obesity.