Culinary medicine course: qualitative assessment of an innovative pedagogical approach

While nutrition plays a major role in health, medical students have generally not received adequate nutritional education, lack confidence in their nutritional knowledge and feel unqualified to offer nutrition advice to future patients. Culinary medicine programmes have been developed to address this gap and employ an active learning approach that integrates medical and nutritional learning with the acquisition of culinary competencies and skills. This study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the Université Laval culinary medicine course based on students' experiences of the course structure, active learning approach and its influence on their lifestyle, clinical practice and future approach to nutrition as physicians.

Discussion groups were conducted. Thematic content analysis of discussion group data was performed.

A first French-language culinary medicine course was developed and pilot tested at Université Laval. The curriculum of this course combined online training videos on medical and nutritional concepts, hands-on cooking sessions and the realisation of a collaborative project.

Pre-clerkship medical students enrolled in the elective culinary medicine course at each pilot project semesters (fall 2022: n 12, winter 2023: n 12).

Students valued the course's innovative active learning approach, noting improvements in their diet, nutrition and cooking knowledge, skills, self-efficacy and confidence. They also developed greater critical thinking regarding nutrition and recognised their role in collaborating with dietitians.

The culinary medicine course demonstrated prospective benefits for medical students, potentially improving their personal and future patients' health and the integration of nutrition into medical education and practice.