Nutrition Curriculum and Leadership

Nutrition plays a vital role in the prevention and management of chronic disease, and the T.H. Chan School of Medicine is committed to ensuring students graduate with a strong foundation in evidence-based nutrition science and its clinical applications. To that end, the nutrition curriculum is longitudinally integrated across both the preclerkship and clerkship phases of the Vista curriculum. This design ensures that nutrition-related content is introduced early, reinforced through multiple clinical and scientific contexts, and assessed consistently throughout medical training.

The oversight and strategic implementation of this curriculum are the responsibility of a dedicated Longitudinal Nutrition Director, a faculty member with content expertise in clinical nutrition and medical education. This position is institutionally funded, underscoring the school’s commitment to robust, high-quality nutrition education. The Nutrition Director is responsible for ensuring effective coverage, placement, sequencing, integration, and assessment of nutrition content across the curriculum.

The nutrition curriculum begins in the preclerkship phase, where foundational concepts such as macro- and micronutrient physiology, nutritional assessment, and the role of nutrition in health promotion and disease prevention are introduced. These concepts are embedded within relevant system-based blocks and supported through active learning formats including case-based learning, team-based discussions, and interactive patient scenarios. In the clerkship phase, students encounter nutrition in a clinical context, with explicit objectives linked to patient counseling, management of nutrition-related conditions, and interprofessional collaboration with dietitians.

Through thoughtful design and dedicated oversight, the longitudinal nutrition curriculum equips future physicians with the knowledge and skills to incorporate nutrition effectively into patient care.