Announcing new collaboration between Monash University and NNEdPro Global Centre
Professor Sue
Elliot, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Monash University, and Professor
Sumantra Ray, NNEdPro Founding Chair and Executive Director, Fellow of Wolfson
College, University of Cambridge, signing the MoU
The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food at Monash
University (Monash Nutrition) is excited to announce a new collaboration
between Monash University and NNEdPro
Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, an international group of
experts in nutrition education and medicine anchored at the University
of Cambridge in the UK. The collaboration addresses a
well-known knowledge gap in the medical and healthcare sectors – the depth of medical
professionals’ understanding of nutrition and its role in health and disease
prevention. The collaboration will see NNEdPro recognise the Monash Nutrition
suite of Food as Medicine online courses,
which are accredited in Australia and the UK, as a pathway for doctors and
other healthcare professionals to become a member of NNEdPro’s International Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE);
a membership scheme which has just been launched in collaboration with the US-based
Society for Nutrition Education and Behaviour (SNEB) and Monash University.
Who are NNEdPro?
NNEdPro, or as it’s more formally known ‘the Need for
Nutrition Education and Innovation Programme’, is an award-winning training
academy, interdisciplinary network and research consortium, comprised of multidisciplinary
experts in nutrition, medicine, healthcare and public health. Put simply,
NNEdPro works to improve nutrition-related health outcomes for patients
by providing relevant, up-to-date and nuanced training and support to
healthcare professionals in the areas of food, nutrition and health. The newly launched The International
Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE) draws from over a decade of experience in
developing and delivering high quality nutrition education and evaluating its impact,
particularly on healthcare practices. For this membership scheme, NNEdPro
partnered with the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB); a US
based organisation that represents the unique professional interests of
nutrition educators worldwide. SNEB is dedicated to promoting effective
nutrition education and communication to support and improve healthful behaviours
and has a vision of healthy communities through nutrition education and
advocacy.
Monash Nutrition and
Nutrition Education
Monash Nutrition’s aim to provide relevant and useful
education to doctors and healthcare professionals in the areas of food,
nutrition and healthcare directly aligns with the goals of NNEdPro. As such, we
are proud to be a part of the Australian-New Zealand Network of NNEdPro, in the
form of the ANZ NNEdPro steering committee.
Through this, Monash Nutrition can continue to strongly advocate for increased
awareness of the importance of nutrition strategies as part of routine medical
care, and greater access for all healthcare professionals to nutrition
education relevant to their discipline.
Impact
Currently, medical curricula around the world lack
sufficient nutrition content to effectively equip doctors with practical skills
and information to provide useful nutrition advice and recommendations to
patients. [1] This collaboration is an important first step in assisting
healthcare professionals to gain the crucial knowledge and skills they need to
advocate for improved nutrition within healthcare and to discuss and implement
simple nutrition strategies with their patients. While dietitians and
nutritionists are one of the best-placed professions to provide nutrition care
and strategies, it is essential to involve doctors and other healthcare
professionals in the conversation. While nutrition is involved in nearly every
aspect of healthcare, not everyone will be able to access specialised advice
from a nutrition professional. As such, by expanding healthcare professionals’
toolkit of skills and knowledge, all members of a multidisciplinary healthcare
team can work together in improving the health of their patients.
This partnership recognises Monash Nutrition’s suite of Food as Medicine courses, which
provide a flexible, online learning environment for doctors and healthcare
professionals anywhere in the world. The online courses provide nutrition education,
including the latest research in the field, and relevant practical case
studies. Through this collaboration, completion of these courses will now allow
doctors and healthcare professionals to apply for membership to the IANE, which
will provide members with bespoke support and mentorship to implement nutrition
into practice, access to a global network of medical nutrition experts and
knowledge symposia, and numerous opportunities to partake in public health
nutrition advocacy initiatives through NNEdPro’s partnership with governmental
and non-governmental organisations. Completion of these courses will also
enable interested professionals to apply for SNEB membership at discounted
rates.
Monash University and NNEdPro hope this collaboration will provide
increased access to nutrition education for doctors and healthcare professionals
and continue to raise awareness about the critical role of nutrition in health.
References:
- Adamski, M. , Gibson, S. ,
Leech, M. and Truby, H. (2018), Are doctors nutritionists? What is the
role of doctors in providing nutrition advice?. Nutr Bull, 43: 147-152. doi:10.1111/nbu.12320 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12320