Promotion of Physician Nutrition Education Through Strategic Dietitian Documentation

Most healthcare providers believe that nutrition assessment and therapy should be an integral part of patient care. Physicians however receive inadequate nutrition education in medical school and postgraduate training, resulting in limited interest and poor integration of nutrition into clinical practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a means of documentation and presentation by registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) that would enhance communication and assimilation of principles in clinical nutrition for physicians.

In an effort to standardize terminology, promote a uniform approach to nutrition care, and gather data for research purposes, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the Academy) developed the Nutrition Care Process (NCP). This process with a design and terminology unique to their specialty, inadvertently excludes pertinent clinical information from being communicated and reduces the impact of the RDN in coordinating the nutrition management of their patients. This report introduces a proposal to modify the Academy NCP with strategic documentation by which RDNs might better communicate through charting and case presentation in a language common to other services and members of the healthcare team. Strategic RDN documentation and communication would help provide education on the go in the workplace, helping to fill gaps in the nutrition knowledge base for physicians. The proposal seeks to further augment the role and clinical responsibilities of the RDN on a nutrition consult service with the ultimate aim of promoting better patient care.