March is National Nutrition Month!!
This is an appropriate time to evaluate the quality of your education, awareness and knowledge about nutrition. Our fast pace, technology based health care settings often prevent us from recognizing the importance of teaching patients about nutrition. Nursing education in particular has lost focus on this topic. Last year, I participated in a group discussion with all of our department's professors, the director of nursing, and several other nursing students. The purpose of the gathering was to critically evaluate the nursing curriculum. All of the students agreed that we felt our knowledge base was inadequate in the area of nutrition. As a result of this evaluation, I believe our nursing department is going to require a core nutrition class design for nursing students.
Nurses need to take professional responsibility for learning about the dynamics role of nutrition in nursing care. If nurses have a strong knowledge base on nutrition, they will be able to collaborate with dietitians and reinforce interventions with patients. BSN programs need to recognize this need and incorporate a nutrition class into their curriculum. Hospitals need to assess their nurses' knowledge and implement educational programs on nutrition specifically for nurses.
Be an educated advocate for nutrition education at your hospital or school, and be the paradigm of a healthy lifestyle:
*Nursing Link Nat'l Nutrition Month Resources
*Eatright.org: Primary site for resources associated with this year's Nat'l Nutrition Month. Offers specific resources for health care professionals!
