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Journal Now Offering CME
announcement Journal Now Offering CME
N
utrition is an established factor in maintaining good health and preventing or reducing chronic illness (1). Of the 10 most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, eight are directly or indirectly linked to individual dietary practices (2); in response to this, many health and medically related organizations advocate nutrition counseling as part of a patient’s routine visits to a primary care provider (3). In 1985, the National Academy of Sciences reported that nutrition education in medical schools was insufficient to prepare physicians for addressing patient needs in understanding how diet affects health (2). More recent studies have reported an ongoing need to enhance physicians’ knowledge of recommended treatment strategies, including nutritional intervention, for some diseases (4,5). To address this problem, in 1999 the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute launched the Nutrition Academic Award and funded 21 medical schools over a 5-year period to integrate medical nutrition education within the medical school curriculum. Many Nutrition Academic Award investigators were dietetics professionals who collaborated with physicians in developing and implementing medical nutrition curricula that addressed these innovative nutrition education guidelines. “It illustrated the best of multidisciplinary collaboration,” says Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, a principal investigator in the Nutrition Academic Award and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. “Bringing continuing medical education (CME) to the Journal offers an outstanding link to ongoing medical nutrition education, not only at the undergraduate level, but for graduate students and attending physicians as well.” The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is pleased to begin offering medical nutrition education opportunities to physicians beginning with the May 2005 issue of the Journal. This will be the first time ADA has offered CME credits to physicians via the Journal, and is able to do so through the Journal’s publisher, Elsevier, an American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME) provider. The mission of ADA is to lead the future of dietetics. Professional education is paramount in achieving this overarching goal, with the ultimate focus on improving nutritional status of the population thereby enhancing prevention and treatment of disease. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of patient care, ADA is pleased to foster nutrition education among other clinicians, including physicians and allied health professionals who often interact with patients regarding their eating habits. Through raising awareness and understanding of the role of nutrition in patient care, the importance and benefit of the dietetics professional become even more relevant. Doctors do not want to be dietetics professionals, but their endorsement of diet as a key factor in their patient’s treatment can increase referrals to dietetics professionals for in-depth nutritional assessment and treatment counseling, especially when multiple risk factors are involved. Q: What is ADA’s interest in providing this service? A: “The new CME feature in the Journal is an innovative venue for physicians and other health professionals to update their knowledge of current nutrition research findings and related clinical applications,” says Eileen Vincent, MS, RD, assistant director of clinical nutrition research at Northwestern University, who coordinated this project. “In addition, in keeping with ADA’s organizational goals, the Journal is reaching out to the general medical community to expand, strengthen, and diversify its readership.” Q: What are ADA’s goals in providing CME? A: Providing CME strengthens the alliance between dietetics professionals and physicians while enhancing the Journal’s image as the premier publication for the practice and science of food, nutrition, and dietetics. This is in keeping with one of ADA’s Strategic Goals: influencing key food, nutrition, and health initiatives.
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2005.03.020
© 2005 by the American Dietetic Association
Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION
687
In expanding the readership of the Journal, additional benefits may be derived from attracting new authors and new reviewers with common interests in nutrition research and education. This can likewise help ADA implement its research agenda and facilitate research supporting the dietetics profession, another Strategic Goal. Q: Why are physicians interested in nutrition and dietetics? A: “Physicians have a growing interest in nutrition,” says Ronald F. Kahn, MD, associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a Nutrition Academic Award recipient. “As the evidence base increases regarding the role of diet in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease, it is important that the multidisciplinary nature of nutrition be addressed. As a member of the [Nutrition Academic Award] program, I am especially pleased that additional options for medical nutrition education have become available. The Journal is meeting a major need in a timely and effective way.” References 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/. Accessed March 5, 2005. 2. White JV, Young E, Lasswell A. Position of The American Dietetic Association: Nutrition—An essential component of medical education. J Am Diet Assoc. 1994;94:555-557. 3. National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. About the Nutrition Academic Award (NAA) Program. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ funding/training/naa/about.htm. Accessed March 4, 2005. 4. Flynn A, Sciamanna C, Vigilante K. Inadequate physician knowledge of the effects of diet on blood lipids and lipoprotein. Nutrition. 2003;2:19. 5. Schulman JA, Rienzo BA. The importance of physicians’ literacy in the management of diabetes mellitus. Med Educ Online. Available at: http://www.med-ed-online.org/ f0000022.htm. Accessed March 5, 2005.
688
May 2005 Volume 105 Number 5
N
utrition is an established factor in maintaining good health and preventing or reducing chronic illness (1). Of the 10 most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, eight are directly or indirectly linked to individual dietary practices (2); in response to this, many health and medically related organizations advocate nutrition counseling as part of a patient’s routine visits to a primary care provider (3). In 1985, the National Academy of Sciences reported that nutrition education in medical schools was insufficient to prepare physicians for addressing patient needs in understanding how diet affects health (2). More recent studies have reported an ongoing need to enhance physicians’ knowledge of recommended treatment strategies, including nutritional intervention, for some diseases (4,5). To address this problem, in 1999 the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute launched the Nutrition Academic Award and funded 21 medical schools over a 5-year period to integrate medical nutrition education within the medical school curriculum. Many Nutrition Academic Award investigators were dietetics professionals who collaborated with physicians in developing and implementing medical nutrition curricula that addressed these innovative nutrition education guidelines. “It illustrated the best of multidisciplinary collaboration,” says Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, a principal investigator in the Nutrition Academic Award and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. “Bringing continuing medical education (CME) to the Journal offers an outstanding link to ongoing medical nutrition education, not only at the undergraduate level, but for graduate students and attending physicians as well.” The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is pleased to begin offering medical nutrition education opportunities to physicians beginning with the May 2005 issue of the Journal. This will be the first time ADA has offered CME credits to physicians via the Journal, and is able to do so through the Journal’s publisher, Elsevier, an American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME) provider. The mission of ADA is to lead the future of dietetics. Professional education is paramount in achieving this overarching goal, with the ultimate focus on improving nutritional status of the population thereby enhancing prevention and treatment of disease. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of patient care, ADA is pleased to foster nutrition education among other clinicians, including physicians and allied health professionals who often interact with patients regarding their eating habits. Through raising awareness and understanding of the role of nutrition in patient care, the importance and benefit of the dietetics professional become even more relevant. Doctors do not want to be dietetics professionals, but their endorsement of diet as a key factor in their patient’s treatment can increase referrals to dietetics professionals for in-depth nutritional assessment and treatment counseling, especially when multiple risk factors are involved. Q: What is ADA’s interest in providing this service? A: “The new CME feature in the Journal is an innovative venue for physicians and other health professionals to update their knowledge of current nutrition research findings and related clinical applications,” says Eileen Vincent, MS, RD, assistant director of clinical nutrition research at Northwestern University, who coordinated this project. “In addition, in keeping with ADA’s organizational goals, the Journal is reaching out to the general medical community to expand, strengthen, and diversify its readership.” Q: What are ADA’s goals in providing CME? A: Providing CME strengthens the alliance between dietetics professionals and physicians while enhancing the Journal’s image as the premier publication for the practice and science of food, nutrition, and dietetics. This is in keeping with one of ADA’s Strategic Goals: influencing key food, nutrition, and health initiatives.
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2005.03.020
© 2005 by the American Dietetic Association
Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION
687
In expanding the readership of the Journal, additional benefits may be derived from attracting new authors and new reviewers with common interests in nutrition research and education. This can likewise help ADA implement its research agenda and facilitate research supporting the dietetics profession, another Strategic Goal. Q: Why are physicians interested in nutrition and dietetics? A: “Physicians have a growing interest in nutrition,” says Ronald F. Kahn, MD, associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a Nutrition Academic Award recipient. “As the evidence base increases regarding the role of diet in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease, it is important that the multidisciplinary nature of nutrition be addressed. As a member of the [Nutrition Academic Award] program, I am especially pleased that additional options for medical nutrition education have become available. The Journal is meeting a major need in a timely and effective way.” References 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/. Accessed March 5, 2005. 2. White JV, Young E, Lasswell A. Position of The American Dietetic Association: Nutrition—An essential component of medical education. J Am Diet Assoc. 1994;94:555-557. 3. National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. About the Nutrition Academic Award (NAA) Program. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ funding/training/naa/about.htm. Accessed March 4, 2005. 4. Flynn A, Sciamanna C, Vigilante K. Inadequate physician knowledge of the effects of diet on blood lipids and lipoprotein. Nutrition. 2003;2:19. 5. Schulman JA, Rienzo BA. The importance of physicians’ literacy in the management of diabetes mellitus. Med Educ Online. Available at: http://www.med-ed-online.org/ f0000022.htm. Accessed March 5, 2005.
688
May 2005 Volume 105 Number 5