Nutrition Curriculum Initiative
LSU Health School of Medicine in New Orleans has launched a comprehensive assessment
of its nutrition curriculum across its required courses and clerkships. Curriculum
leaders utilized a curriculum database program to identify all class sessions and
materials related to nutrition and utilized a consensus process to map content to
the nutrition competencies outlined in the 2024 JAMA Consensus Statement. The current
curriculum includes teaching in several of the domains, including Foundational Nutritional
Knowledge, Nutrition Assessment and Diagnosis, Communication Skills, and Public Health
Nutrition. While clinical teaching in the clerkship phase builds on foundational
knowledge from the preclerkship phase, the group identified opportunities for enhanced
longitudinal teaching, interprofessional collaboration, and application activities
related to patient counseling. Dr. Lauri Byerley, our faculty champion for nutrition
education, will work with curricular leaders and course and clerkship directors to
ensure that enhancements are logical and practical for student use with their patients.