PCRM’s Nutrition Guide for Clinicians: A Comprehensive Resource For Providers Wanting to Add to Their Toolbox

Despite the overwhelming evidence linking nearly every chronic medical disease (and many acute ones) to our diet, medical providers receive very little education on the topic. In 1985, the National Academy of Science published a landmark paper citing the lack of education on nutrition in medical schools. A 2010 follow-up study showed that most medical schools still failed to deliver the recommended 25 hours of nutrition education. In the study, only 25% of medical schools had any type of nutrition course and only 28 delivered any formal nutrition education on par with the current recommendations. This results in patients presenting to their providers with real and important nutrition questions and several generations of clinicians potentially lacking the know-how to help them.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has set out to change these sobering statistics. Founded by cardiologist and nutrition author, Dr Neal Barnard, MD, the group aims to empower patients to prevent and treat disease through their lifestyles and diets rather than only via medications. They also are a proponent of less animal testing in medical research. They offer an entirely free online nutrition curriculum for providers and now offer a medical app containing some of this content. The app is called the PCRM’s Nutrition Guide for Clinicians. The app is divided into basic introductory topics such as macro and micronutrients in health and disease, medical condition specific topics from acne to viral hepatitis, and finally a section on patient resources. All of this content is free and provided in an app by Unbound Medicine.

Clinical Scenario

You are a new intern just starting your internal medicine rotation. You are assigned to see a 65 y/o male with Type II diabetes, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic alcoholism admitted to the service with acute pancreatitis. The attending begins asking you about nutrition care for this patient during rounds. How would you address the attending’s questions?

Video Review

Evidence based medicine

The app contains information from the PCRM which provides advocacy and education for providers on nutrition education for patients with an on emphasis disease prevention and patient empowerment. The app is highly referenced throughout and contains numerous additional content offline via hyperlinks.

What providers would benefit from this App?

Students, residents, nurses, mid-levels, residents, attendings, dieticians, and any provider who performs nutrition counseling/care.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.