Assessing the Nutritional Knowledge Gap: Students' View of UK Medical School Education.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional survey without a control group
PubMed 41362502 · doi:10.7759/cureus.96280
What was done
An online survey was administered to 92 medical students across 17 UK medical schools to assess perceptions of the role of nutrition in healthcare, training quantity, confidence in clinical application, and preferred learning methods.
What was found
Of the respondents, 87% believed doctors should provide nutritional advice, while 56% reported receiving less than four hours of formal nutrition education. Only 19.6% felt confident conducting nutritional assessments, 49% lacked confidence offering dietary guidance, and many reported relying on external websites to address knowledge gaps.
Why it matters
This study highlights a discrepancy between medical students' recognized need for nutritional knowledge and their self-reported training volume and clinical confidence.
Limits
The sample is small (n = 92) and prone to self-selection bias across 17 schools. Outcomes are limited to subjective self-reports of confidence and perceived training hours rather than objective curricular reviews or clinical skill assessments.