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Focus Group Meeting

Focus Group Meeting: November 16, 2000
Topic: Identifying nutrition content in the existing curriculum
Participants: 2 MSI, 3 MSII, and 3 MSIV

Questions and responses:

Do you plan to go into a primary care or non-primary care career?

  • Five of the students indicated a preference for primary care; one indicated non-primary care.
  • Two were uncertain, leaning toward non-primary.

Give me an example of a time you learned something about nutrition prior to medical school.

  • Took a nutrition course as an undergrad (3)
  • Majored in nutrition and worked in her own company packaging low fat foods (1)
  • Have relatives that are dieticians (sister and spouse) (2)
  • Volunteered with MD Anderson's Place of Wellness (1)
  • Conducted research in gastroenterology (1)
  • Considered themselves a lay person with respect to nutrition (1)

What have you learned about nutrition so far in your medical school training? (This is dependent upon their current level of training.)

MS II and III had participated in nutrition elective.

For MS I:

  • None

For MS II:

  • Minimal, lectures in biochemistry, pathology and FCM

For MS III

  • Some information in surgery (not taken seriously by surgeons)
  • Emphasized in pediatrics with newborns
  • Minimal exposure to nutritional consults (not able to observe interactions of patient/nutritionist or dietitian)

Describe any experiences that have affected your own personal dietary habits as a medical student (positively or negatively).

  • Modifying diet to lower high BP (1)
  • Poor eating habits as a teenager (1)
  • Athletics (2)
  • Pregnancy (1)
  • Family history of diabetes, high cholesterol (2)
  • Influenced by spouse who is a dietitian (1)

On any exams you've taken thus far, what questions have there been on nutrition?

  • It was challenging for the students to identify nutritional questions.
  • Students did feel there were some questions on the biochemistry exam.
  • They felt any nutritional concepts were asked in the context of a disease state like alcoholism or hypertension.
  • They recalled having to calculate calories on one exam.

In your patient encounters, what would you have liked to have known or been able to do with respect to nutrition?

  • Types of dietary requirements for underlying diseases (i.e., heart healthy, diabetic, high cholesterol, obesity/weight control
  • Nutritional requirements for a healthy individual
  • Herbal medications and their impact
  • How to approach patients about special dietary needs
  • Culture sensitive dietary information

Complete this sentence. When I think about how I would like to learn about nutrition as it applies to my patients, I would like�

Prompts:
PBL cases Web-based cases in basic science courses
CD ROM cases that you could review on your own PC

  • To know more about nutrition and diet and how it works, the big picture.
  • To add information to the first year in Biochemistry lectures (i.e., lipids, amino acids).
  • To have the information within the regular course structure and part of course requirements.
  • To observe a nutritionist/dietician with a patient.
  • To have lectures by a nutritionist.
  • To have more nutritional focus in some of the PBL cases.
  • To make sure we are tested on nutrition.

Would you be willing to keep a 2-day diet record and analyze your nutrient intake? using a nutrient database on computers in the LRC?

  • All who participated indicated they would be willing.
  • They also felt their fellow classmates might be interested but compliance would depend on whether or not this was a requirement and when in the curriculum it was placed (time available for such an activity).

SUMMARY

  • All participants have had exposure to nutrition, perhaps more than their classmates.
  • Most have tried to change their own diet.
  • Most would like more fundamental knowledge about nutrition within the curriculum including information on herbal medications.
  • Most would like to increase their skills with respect to dietary counseling.
  • All felt that placing this information in the curriculum will be challenging and must be part of the required structure for students to actively pursue these topics.
  • Participants were given the list of Essential Nutrition Topics and asked to review those and be prepared to discuss what they feel would be appropriate for them to address at their level of training.

OTHER TOPICS

  • One student requested we identify a nutritional textbook that might have clinical applications.
  • One student suggested contacting other schools to identify how their curriculum addresses nutrition.

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