Medical Nutrition Therapy

Catalog description

This Medical Nutrition Therapy course provides students with a strong understanding of how to best prescribe diets for patients, depending on the specific disease profile of the individual. This understanding comes from integrating knowledge of disease pathophysiology with nutrient roles and requirements. This knowledge of disease process informs dietary recommendations. In each case, students use the Nutrition Care Process to assess individual patient needs to determine best practice. Strong assessment skills will allow students to prioritize treatment for best outcomes at an individual level. This course covers prescribed medical nutrition therapy for major disease states encountered in clinical practice. Background pathophysiology lays the foundation for interpreting research and prescribing best practice diets for diseases including obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, renal failure, and liver disease among others. Additionally, planning and usage of enteral and parenteral nutrition is covered. In each unit, students use their understanding of disease states to provide nutrition recommendations in case study examples. Prescriptive diets must reflect physiological states as well as individual patient preferences.