Medical schools should be prioritising nutrition and lifestyle education
Would you expect a junior doctor to be confident giving basic advice and care for the most common and fatal diseases? Of course you would. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines state that a first line intervention for diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol is to give ‘lifestyle advice’—but this phrase is so vague that it is left up to doctors and patients to define it and, potentially, ignore it.

In 2008 and 2009, more than 75% of American junior physicians felt inadequately trained to counsel patients on diet and physical activity.1 The picture is reportedly similar in the UK.2 In Tomorrow’s Doctors, the General Medical Council requires qualifying medical students to understand the role of diet in health promotion and disease prevention, which includes being nutritionally competent. Internationally, this knowledge is lacking in medical training. Just 27% of US medical schools provided the agreed minimum of 25 hours of nutrition education in 2008.3 A recent study of European medical schools was slightly more optimistic, suggesting that nutrition education was a requirement in 68.8% of …
Responses to a GP survey: current controversies in diet and cardiovascular disease
BackgroundWhen advising patients on diet and health, the general practitioner (GP) makes judgements based on the evidence available. Since current evidence on diet and cardiovascular disease is conflicted and confusing, we surveyed the current consensus amongst GPs. The aim of this study was to determine the views of GPs on dietary saturated fat, carbohydrates and long chain omega-3 fatty acids in the management of cardiovascular disease.MethodAn online questionnaire inviting participants to comment on seven contentious statements on diet and cardiovascular disease. Questionnaire circulated to the 1800 members of South West Thames Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). Participants were invited to tick “Agree”, “Disagree” or “Not sure” and were encouraged to add comments for each question. The results were analysed with a combination of statistical analysis and thematic analysis of comments.ResultsThere were 89 responses. Most GPs seem well aware that drug treatment alone is inadequate and that dietary advice is important. However, there was considerable disagreement about the roles of saturated fats and carbohydrates in cardiovascular disease and “Not sure” responses ranged from 12 to 40.7%. The 40.7% related to a statement on long chain omega-3 fatty acids. Analysis of comments revealed more opinions including an awareness of the need to warn patients about trans-fatty acids.ConclusionsAlthough the GP response rate was poor, responders do seem to see dietary advice as part of their role but do not consider themselves as experts. Education in this area should have a higher priority.
Teaching learning disability to undergraduate medical students
The education of doctors shapes their professional identity: who they are and how they practise. Where does the issue of learning disability fit in? What is it and of what factors should doctors in training be aware?

The training of medical students has been defined by the General Medical Council (