Education of nutritional support in medical schools Rakesh Tandon, Max Healthcare Institute & PSRI for Liver, Renal and Digestive Diseases, New Delhi It is well recognized that nutritional support is as important as specific therapy in the management of severe acute as well as chronic debilitating diseases. Literature supports strongly that establishment of a nutrition support service in a hospital would result in a decrease in morbidity and mortality and the overall cost of treatment of the patients. The nutritional support is best provided by a team comprised of a dietition, nutritionist, nurse, pharmacist and and the treating physician, but it is the physician who must come out as the leader of the team and prescribe the specific nutritional therapy for the the patient depending on his or her requirement. Unfortunately, adequate nutritional support is often seen missing from the treatment chart of hospitalized patients because the physician has not even thought of it. Similarly, diet related questions posed by the outpatients are often brushed aside casually by the physicians. The reason is lack of knowledge as also the appreciation of the importance of the nutritional aspect of treatment. The fault lies in the present undergraduate medical education system. But for a few lectures on the basics of nutritional principles during physiology courses and on community nutrition during the clinical training, the undergraduate curricula do not include any teaching on nutritional support. The best time to teach thee principles and methods of nutritional support is when lectures are being given on the clinical aspects of diseased. Along with the specific therapy the overall management including the nutritional support should be emphasized. The routes of administration and the formulations available should also be told to the students. This will dig in them the concept that nutritional support is a part of the disease management. It is easier to train the young fresh graduates than to teach new concepts to well established old physicians. From "PENSA 2003" Cidade de Goa, India, November 6-8, 2003 Page : 93