Cooper Medical School students work on the Cooper Sprouts Community Garden in 2024. This project is an example of student community service focused on nutrition. (Courtesy of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University)

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**Federal Push Urges Medical Schools to Teach Nutrition**

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently mandated that medical schools incorporate nutrition education into their curricula. Moreover, organizations responsible for medical education standards were given two weeks to develop plans to include nutrition training in licensing exams and residency requirements.

Two local medical schools say they are already prepared, having integrated nutrition education for years.

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**Longstanding Nutrition Curricula at Local Medical Schools**

At Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, the nutrition curriculum dates back to the late 1990s. Michael White, professor emeritus of pharmacology and physiology at Drexel, explained that medical students receive around 20 hours of class time covering topics such as vitamins, food labels, and assessing patients’ energy and nutrition needs during hospital stays.

“Given how much nutrition we already cover, we don’t have much to worry about with that declaration from HHS and the Department of Education,” White said. He emphasized that the faculty at Drexel has long considered nutrition an essential part of health education, which is why their program includes it extensively.

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**Cooper Medical School’s Comprehensive Approach**

Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in New Jersey teaches nutrition across various courses and also engages students in nutrition-focused research and community service projects.

Sangita Phadtare, assistant dean and professor of biomedical sciences, shared examples of student involvement in the community, such as participating in a local community garden to grow fresh vegetables. Students have also collaborated with local groups to educate Spanish-speaking residents on interpreting food labels and building healthy meals from affordable ingredients like dried beans and frozen vegetables — especially for those without access to cars.

“As a school, we try to do our part because we believe that Camden is our home. It’s not just our workplace,” Phadtare said. “Even though I would say that we fare well, there is always scope for doing more.”

She added, “We, as a medical education community, think that nutrition is important. Even without being told, we should be doing that.”

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**The Federal Initiative for Enhanced Nutrition Education**

At the end of August, HHS and the Department of Education launched this initiative, urging leading medical education organizations nationwide to implement comprehensive nutrition education immediately.

In an editorial, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compared the needed swift adaptation to nutrition training to the rapid pivot to telehealth services at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Kennedy cited research showing that most U.S. medical schools did not require nutrition training, and many doctors felt uncomfortable discussing nutrition with patients.

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**Expert Reactions and Current Status**

Paul Wischmeyer, professor of anesthesiology and surgery at Duke University, described the current state of nutrition education in medical schools as a crisis. Although he noted a shortage of nutrition experts in the U.S. to meet the new demands, he expressed excitement about the increased recognition of nutrition’s fundamental role in health care.

“The recognition finally that nutrition is fundamental to all of our lives and to health care in particular is really an exciting opportunity, one that I’ve perhaps waited my whole career to see,” Wischmeyer said.

Recent data from August, however, show that all U.S. medical schools already teach nutrition in some form, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the organization representing medical schools.

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**Nutrition’s Role in Osteopathic Medicine**

Nutrition’s importance is also recognized in osteopathic medical education. Robert Cain, president of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, stated that although nutrition education is not new in osteopathic programs, the current focus offers a chance to enhance ongoing efforts.

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**Next Steps and Commitment**

A press secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that universities have begun committing to the changes, and all organizations responsible for medical education standards in the U.S. have responded to the initiative.

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