title: Primary care physicians and clinical nutrition: can good medical nutrition care be offered without well-trained physicians in the area?
abstract: The senior author, immediate past president of the IUNS (International Union of Nutritional Sciences), makes the case here that the standard, recognition, and efficiency of nutritional work in primary care are linked to the status of clinical nutrition in teaching hospitals. There should be opportunities for physicians interested in clinical nutrition to be trained and have a profile similar to other clinical specialists. The clinical nutrition group in the Department of Internal Medicine at the teaching hospital of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, is an example of a functioning clinical unit. Statistics are presented comparing patient numbers for the clinical nutrition group at Ribeirão Preto with other clinical services (cardiology, nephrology, and geriatrics). Clinical nutrition has its own clinical methodology and technology. When clinical nutrition is visible and recognized in medical schools, skills in nutrition will extend beyond hospital boundaries and become useful in the primary care of patients at the community level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dutra-de-Oliveira
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Marchini
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010819:Physician's Role; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013997:Time Factors