Summary: Information was provided on the status of nutrition education in medical schools. It was determined that, despite the importance of nutrition in medicine, nutrition was not taught adequately in many U.S. medical schools; this, in turn, has limited the ability of many physicians to make the best nutritional assessments or provide patients with the best counseling on diet. Although the need to teach physicians more about nutrition has been known for years, efforts sponsored by concerned professional and public welfare organizations to upgrade the amount and quality of nutritional training received by physicians in U.S. medical schools have been largely unsuccessful. A survey of four medical schools and three of their teaching hospitals revealed approaches to the nutritional status of patients that varied widely in thoroughness and reliability. In the schools themselves, it was found that none offered a complete nutritional curriculum; that in three schools nutritional courses were offered on an elective basis available to only 10 percent of the student body; and that the fourth school offered a nutritional seminar limited to 30 students. These findings were supported by other studies conducted by professional organizations, Government agencies, and public welfare organizations. It was felt that this kind of inaccessibility would lead medical school graduates to underrate the importance of nutrition in the practice of medicine and may be evident in the work of some practicing physicians. Despite Congressional interest and legislation in the area of nutrition education, insufficient funds have been allocated on the agency level to achieve this goal. Where funds were applied, significant progress was made in developing nutrition education curricula. Failure to follow up on the results of nutrition education grants means that insight that would be valuable to medical schools interested in developing nutrition education curricula was lost. Funds made available in fiscal year 1979 for interdisciplinary training grants should aid in making medical students more aware of and more likely to use the services of other health professionals in the nutrition field. It was suggested that the Federal government take the lead in encouraging, through educational grants, the development of greater awareness among physicians of the importance of nutrition in medicine.
