MSOM joins nutrition education initiative

MSOM is one of more than 50 medical schools across 31 states to participate in the U.S. Health and Human Services partnership. 

The Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine is joining more than 50 medical schools across the country in a U.S. Health and Human Services initiative to teach nutrition education.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the partnership Thursday during a news conference in Washington, D.C. Brian Kessler, DO, dean of MSOM, and Maulik Joshi, DrPH, president and CEO of Meritus Health, were in attendance.

The goal is to better train physicians when it comes to nutrition by requiring every medical student to complete at least 40 hours of comprehensive nutrition education or competency equivalent before graduating, Kennedy said.

That’s no problem for MSOM, Dr. Kessler said after the announcement.

“Nutrition, wellness and medical education all come together at MSOM,” he said. “Nutrition education is woven throughout our medical training. We provide hands-on learning in patient care settings and we participate in Meritus Health programs that address food insecurity and health.”

One of those programs is the Meritus Food Farmacy, which recently received a Best Practice Spotlight in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The program provides food as medicine to those in need based on their health conditions and socioeconomic circumstances.

“We look forward to working with the other schools that are leading this work,” Dr. Kessler said.

To learn more about MSOM’s nutrition education, visit www.msom.org/nutrition.