Medical educators response to a web‐based nutrition implementation toolkit (WNCIT) for entry level medical courses (118.2)

Abstract

Medical educators response to a web‐based nutrition implementation toolkit (WNCIT) for entry level medical courses Caryl A Nowson1, Robyn Perlstein1, Eleanor Beck2, Jennifer Lindley3, Jennifer Schafer4, Kim Rooney5 1 School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, Deakin University, Australia 2 DAA, Australia & University of Wollongong, Australia.3 Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia4 School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Australia 5 School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Australia In Australian medical courses there is no clear integration of nutrition knowledge and skills as a core component of curriculum. Four universities and the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) have partnered to develop a Web‐based Nutrition Competency Implementation Toolkit (WNCIT) for entry‐level medical courses. This is a systematic approach that facilitates mapping of curriculum to integrate nutrition competencies. To assess the expert views of medical educators on the development of a WNCIT, an online survey and paper‐based survey was developed. To date 37 educators have completed the survey and initial results indicate that although most respondents thought the WNCIT would be useful, they were less certain that their institution would actually use WNCIT. Barriers to implementation cited were: the already full nature of the curriculum (75%); inability to train educators and use the technology (17%); associated costs(19%). Factors that support the development and implementation of the toolkit cited were: highly relevant content (19%), ease of use(8%), clear exemplars(5%), distribution of content over whole curriculum(10%0, low cost(5%), support of higher management(10%). The results indicate that it will be important to address these issues to facilitate the widespread adoption of WNCIT in Australian medical courses.