Nutrition Curriculum
Preparing future physicians to address nutrition and health
We recognize nutrition as a critical component of medical education and patient care. Nutrition education is integrated longitudinally throughout the undergraduate medical curriculum, as well as graduate medical education.
Nutrition education supports key competencies in medical knowledge, patient care, systems-based practice and population health. Throughout their training, students will examine the relationship between nutrition and human health, learn how nutrition influences disease prevention and management and develop practical counseling skills that can be applied across medical specialties.
Students will explore topics including metabolism, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, maternal and child nutrition, food insecurity and differences in health outcomes. Nutrition concepts are reinforced through classroom instruction, clinical skills training, clerkships and elective opportunities, ensuring graduates are prepared to incorporate nutrition into patient-centered care throughout their careers.
Nutrition competency is assessed through written examinations, clinical skills evaluations and observed patient interactions. By graduation, students have developed the foundational knowledge and practical skills necessary to address nutrition-related health concerns across diverse patient populations.
Nutrition education begins in the first year through the Molecular Basis of Life, Defense and Disease (MBLDD) course, where students build a foundation in nutrition science and its role in human health and disease.
Students learn:
- Fundamental principles of nutrition and metabolism
- The role of nutrition in chronic disease prevention and management
- Relationships among carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism
- The impact of undernutrition and overnutrition on health
- Mechanisms contributing to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
- Regulation of appetite through gut hormones, adipokines and neurotransmitters
- The influence of food insecurity and upstream drivers of health on patient outcomes
Nutrition concepts are reinforced through the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course, where students begin developing skills in motivational interviewing, behavior change counseling and weight management discussions with patients.
Approximately 30 hours of nutrition-related content are delivered during the first year.
During the second year, students deepen their understanding of nutrition within the Human Systems in Health and Disease courses.
Topics include:
- Digestion and absorption of nutrients
- Macronutrient and micronutrient metabolism
- Nutritional deficiencies and their clinical presentation
- Inborn errors of metabolism
- Gastrointestinal diseases associated with nutritional status
- Nutrition considerations in endocrine and cardiovascular disease
Students connect foundational nutrition science with disease processes and clinical decision-making, preparing them to apply nutrition principles in patient care settings.
Approximately 17 hours of nutrition-related instruction are delivered during the second year.
Nutrition education is integrated throughout core clinical clerkships, allowing students to apply nutrition concepts in real-world patient care.
Examples include:
Family Medicine
- Nutrition for prevention and management of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, constipation and nutrient deficiencies
Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Nutrition and exercise during pregnancy
- Screening and management of gestational diabetes
- Healthy lifestyle interventions during menopause
Surgery
- Enteral and parenteral nutrition
- Nutritional support for surgical patients
- Nutrition considerations in obesity and metabolic syndrome
Internal Medicine
- Lifestyle and nutrition interventions for diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cardiovascular disease
Pediatrics
- Growth and nutritional assessment
- Breastfeeding support
- Prevention of childhood obesity
- Management of faltering weight
Psychiatry
- Nutritional and vitamin deficiencies affecting mental health
- Eating disorder assessment and management
- Metabolic effects of psychiatric medications
Through bedside teaching, patient encounters and clinical instruction, students learn to incorporate nutrition into diagnosis, treatment planning and preventive care.
Fourth-year students continue to apply nutrition principles in clinical practice while exploring specialized areas of interest through elective opportunities and advanced coursework.
Opportunities may include:
- Culinary medicine experiences
- Food insecurity and community health electives
- Advanced nutrition applications within specialty rotations
- Nutrition topics incorporated into the Topics in Clinical Medicine course
These experiences allow students to further develop counseling skills, understand population health challenges and explore the role of nutrition in specialty care and preventive medicine.
Nutrition education continues beyond medical school through graduate medical education programs, where discipline-specific nutrition training aligns with specialty requirements and clinical practice expectations.
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