Impact of a basic nutrition course for residents at a faculty hospital

Abstract

Background/ Aims: To assess whether a basic nutrition course for residents at a faculty hospital improves their knowledge of nutrition and increases the number of consultation requests for nutrition by alerting participants to the high prevalence of undernutrition in hospitals. Methods: The residents from 34 departments of basic, internal and surgical sciences were recruited to take a 1-day course. Questionnaires, designed to assess knowledge of nutrition, were completed at the beginning and at the end of the course. The results of the questionnaires and the number of consultation demands for nutrition before and after the course were compared. Results: The results of 161 participants were evaluated. The mean (8 SE) numbers of correct answers given to the first and second questionnaires were 14.9 +/- 0.22 and 18.7 +/- 0.21, respectively (p < 0.01). When the number of requests for nutrition consultation during 7-month periods (just before and after the course) were compared, the mean number of requests in each month during these periods were found to be 1.81 +/- 0.58 and 4.06 +/- 1.20, respectively (p < 0.01). Conclusions: A short course of basic nutrition for residents improves their basic knowledge and leads to an increase in the number of consultation requests for nutritional support.