Enhancing nutrition education through faculty development: from workshops to Web sites

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Faculty resistance to curriculum change hinders nutrition education expansion.
• Decentralized clinical clerkships and dispersed faculty complicate curriculum reform.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a faculty development program to integrate nutrition education into a 4-year medical curriculum.
• To support faculty in teaching nutrition effectively within new educational settings.

Main Methods:

• A faculty development program incorporating workshops and a dedicated website.
• Workshops focused on teaching strategies and nutrition knowledge acquisition.
• A website providing resources for curriculum review and planning.

Main Results:

• The program aims to facilitate the inclusion of nutrition across the medical curriculum.
• Faculty can access resources to plan and reassess nutrition content integration.
• The initiative addresses challenges posed by dispersed faculty and evolving teaching methods.

Conclusions:

• Faculty development is crucial for successful curriculum reform in nutrition education.
• A blended approach of workshops and online resources can effectively support faculty.
• This program provides a framework for enhancing nutrition education in medical schools.