“Zoom”ing to the Kitchen: A Novel Approach to Virtual Nutrition Education for Medical Trainees

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Justin A. Charles, University of California, San Diego; Nathan I. Wood, Yale University; Stephanie Neary, Yale University; JOrge O. Moreno, Yale University; Lindsey Scierka, Yale University; Benjamin Brink, Brown University; Xiwen Zhao, Yale University; Katie Gielissen, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-09-27
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 by the authors.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15194166
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Nutrients
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 19
• Start Page: 4166
• Grant/Funding Information: The curriculum was funded through the Yale Office Based Medicine Scholarship and Innovation Fund and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Trainee Research Scholarship and Grant Fund.
• Keywords: virtual learning; food; curriculum; cooking; medical education; teaching kitchen; culinary medicine; plant-based diet; nutrition
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nutrition; Health Sciences, Education

Abstract

While nutritional interventions are first-line therapy for many chronic diseases, most medical trainees receive minimal nutrition education, leaving them unprepared to address nutritional issues with patients. An interactive, single-session, virtual nutrition curriculum was taught online to 80 physician assistant (PA) students. Topics included plant-based nutrition, dietary history-taking and counseling, and culinary medicine. Students were surveyed before, immediately after, and four weeks after the curriculum to assess changes to nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and personal dietary behaviors. Seventy-three PA students (91%) completed the pre-survey, 76 (95%) completed the post-survey, and 42 (52.5%) completed the delayed post-survey. Knowledge scores increased immediately post-intervention (48.9% to 78.9%; p < 0.001) and persisted four weeks later (78.9% to 75.8%; p = 0.54). Post-intervention, students felt more confident in dietary history-taking (55% vs. 95%; p = 0.001) and nutrition counseling (53% vs. 84%; p = 0.003) and agreed that dietary changes alone could reverse type 2 diabetes (74% vs. 97%; p = 0.027) and coronary artery disease (66% vs. 92%; p = 0.039). Curricula using virtual teaching kitchens may be a scalable approach to nutrition education for medical trainees.