Nutrition and Patient Education Section
The Nutrition Services and Patient Education section is staffed with qualified Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) who are trained to deliver evidence-based nutrition care in the traditional clinic setting as well as through telemedicine technology. We work closely with residents and medical students in classroom and clinic settings to help train our future physicians to access nutrition services for patients as well as to deliver evidence based nutrition messages to their own patients during clinic.
The RDNs and certified diabetes educators (CDE) in the Nutrition Services and Patient Education Section are working to train residents and medical students in nutrition by:
- Providing medical nutrition therapy (MNT) to adults, children and youth in our Family Medicine Clinics upon referral by the medical provider
- Teaching medical students, residents, nutrition students, and other health professionals how to assess and counsel their patients about health-promoting and disease-treating diets through classroom instruction, nutrition electives, and door side nutrition consults during clinic, when appropriate
- Providing programs on food and nutrition for community groups
- Maintaining timely and relevant nutrition education updates for medical providers during academic afternoons, grand rounds, and in the resident curriculum
- Integrating medical students and residents into group visits and counseling for nutrition
- Developing innovative delivery methods for nutrition counseling through partnership with the research department and local community groups to fund interventions
Eat Right Now!
“Let’s talk about what you can eat…” This is the main message of the new six-part cooking series called “Eat Right Now!”
Watch the video series on YouTube
In cooperation with ECU TV and Family Medicine’s TeleTEAM Care for Diabetes, registered dietitian nutritionist Jill Jennings developed a series of shows to help you translate nutrition advice into practical action in the kitchen. Each episode includes helpful kitchen tips, techniques, and strategies for creating balanced meals. These meals are great for people trying to make healthier choices for themselves, and/or trying to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and/or working to reduce their cholesterol and blood pressure, manage their diabetes, and/or have more energy and feel better.