Published in:
01-11-2016 | Original Article
Nutrition education in the medical school curriculum: a review of the course content at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Bahrain
Published in: Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) | Issue 4/2016
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Background
Only 14 % of American physicians report that they feel adequately trained to provide nutritional counselling. The average number of nutrition teaching hours in American medical schools is falling below recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences and nutritional education in the medical school curriculum is currently an important discussion topic.
Aims
This study aimed to review the teaching hours delivered during a 6-year medical programme at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Bahrain (RCSI-B) and define the importance of nutritional education for medical students.
Methods
Lecture time regarding the topic of nutrition was quantified by studying the contents of the 6-year course materials on the Moodle® platform virtual learning environment used by RCSI-B.
Results
Students are exposed to approximately 15 h of education in nutrition during their medical studies at RCSI-B.
Conclusions
The 15 h spent educating RCSI-B medical students on nutrition is inadequate according to international recommendations. However, RCSI-B is one of many medical schools that do not reach the minimum required hours (25–44) as set by the National Academy of Sciences and the American Society for Nutrition. We recommend that more teaching hours on nutrition be introduced into the curriculum. These extra teaching hours may greatly benefit RCSI-B students, patients and public health in Bahrain.