Abstract
Background To achieve the optimal outcome both pharmacotherapy and nutritional therapy have to be linked at the best in both inpatients and outpatients. Therefore, it is to question how nutritional professionals assess the pharmacological contents during their professional training and academic education, especially when considering their professional practice. Furthermore, it is still unclear, how a pharmacological curriculum specific for nutritional therapy should be designed. Material and Methods To evaluate the nutritional professionals' assessment of the significance of pharmacological expertise, a Germany-wide online survey has been conducted. Subsequently, a pharmacological curriculum applicable for the integration into the nutritional professionals' training and education has been conceived, based on systematic analysis. Results 101 nutritional professionals responded to the survey, of which 65 % were dietitians and 35% of other professional qualification. 98.9% of participants indicated to conduct a pharmacological anamnesis as a part of their nutritional counselling. 98% of participants presumed more detailed pharmacological knowledge to be helpful for their daily work processes. 99% considered the interdependence of nutritional therapy and pharmacotherapy as relevant. Only 10 % of participants considered their pharmacological knowledge completely sufficient. The analysis of overlaps between nutritional medicine, nutritional sciences, dietetics and pharmacology resulted in the identification of pharmacological topics relevant to nutritional therapy. These pharmacological topics were finally put in a curriculum. Conclusion Even though specific pharmacological topics are relevant to nutritional therapy, they are until now no integral part of nutritional professionals' training and education. The proposed curriculum entitled pharmacology for nutritional therapy comprises those pharmacological topics relevant in nutritional therapy; it therefore may serve as a template for the enhancement of professional training and academic education.
Translated title of the contribution | Pharmacology and nutritional therapy: An examination of the significance of pharmacological knowledge and proposal of a curriculum |
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Original language | German |
Journal | Aktuelle Ernahrungsmedizin |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 11-20 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0341-0501 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01.02.2017 |
Research Areas and Centers
- Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)