Factors affecting graduating nurses' nutritional knowledge: implications for continuing education

Nurses over 25 years of age and with more than 10 years of health-related work experience scored highest when tested for nutritional knowledge in a study of 129 midwestern graduating nurses. Significant differences (F [2, 128] = 5.8, p = .02) were revealed between nurses with 16 or more hours of clinical practice per week in comparison to those nurses with less than 16 hours of clinical practice per week. Cultural nutrition content was the area in which graduating nurses scored the lowest while food and nutrition policies/regulations was the area with which nurses were most familiar. These results have implications for hiring graduating nurses who will need the necessary nutritional care skills to provide quality nursing care today.