Panton, Zachary A

Introduction Less than 20% of US adults meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, yet few physicians provide consistent PA counseling. There is limited research on the state of education of PA counseling in medical school curricula. The purpose of this study was to analyze medical students’ perspectives on the current state and perceived quality of PA education in medical school. Methods An online survey was administered to the students of nine United States medical schools in January 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze results. Results Of 5500 invited students, 1182 (21.5%) responded. Only 8% of students received any formal training on PA counseling for patient or self-use throughout their medical education. The majority (64% and 85%, respectively) of respondents felt that both learning more about the benefits of PA and gaining more practical skills in counseling on PA should be requirements to graduate. Students across all medical school years agreed that formal training on patient counseling for PA should be taught more in-depth. Conclusions Medical students believe that PA and exercise physiology should comprise more of medical education curricula. Such training may equip students with the tools they believe they need to adequately treat patients effectively throughout their careers.

Introduction: The current literature regarding both specific interventions and the current level of nutrition education in the United States is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to provide medical student perspectives on both the degree and necessity of nutrition education during medical school. Methods: Medicine in Motion (MM) is a non-profit student-run organization founded in 2018 that aims to address burnout in medicine through physical activity, community service, and philanthropy. MM issued a survey to nine of its chapters in January 2021 to assess a range of topics including burnout, physical activity, and nutrition education. Results: Of 5500 invited students, 1182 (21.5%) responded. An average of 1.2 hours of formal nutrition education per year was reported across all participants. Students who received any degree of nutritional education reported 2.9 hours per year. Most students (57.6%) had not participated in a medical school course that provided formal education in nutrition. Of those that did participate in a nutrition course (42.4%), the course was required for 84.7% of students and the majority (80.1%) received 0-10 hours of nutrition education. Most respondents (88.7%) reported that requiring formal nutrition education should be a graduation requirement and a similar number of students (89.3%) believe medical students should receive formal training on nutrition counseling for patients. The majority (93.3%) of students either somewhat or strongly agreed that understanding the effects of nutrition/eating decisions on the human body is critical to maximizing patient care. Conclusion: Based on prior studies, physicians feel underprepared to provide nutrition counseling to their patients despite the large role poor diet plays in the burden of disease. Most medical students in this cohort believe that understanding nutrition is vital to maximize patient care. Funding and curricular changes should be allocated towards expanding the nutrition curriculum across U.S. medical schools.