What is the Nutrition Academic Award Program (NAA)?

The University of Colorado Denver (UCD) is one of 21 sites across the country to have received the Nutrition Academic Award (NAA) grant funded through the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).  This program's goals include developing innovative strategies and implementing curriculum changes to strengthen and improve the nutrition training of physicians.  Fifteen years ago the National Academy of Sciences recommended in a landmark report that nutrition become a required component of medical education.  However, as recently as five years ago only 20 - 25 % of medical schools offered a required nutrition course. 

The specific aim of  the NAA for the UCD is to develop and implement an integrated curriculum into medical training that will enhance both the knowledge and the clinical skills of medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to apply nutrition principles in their routine clinical practice.  This will be accomplished through a multi-faceted educational intervention program that:  

1) is vertically structured to best address the needs and skills of different learners, from first through fourth year medical students, residents, and practicing physicians.

 2) incorporates the principles of adult learning at all levels.  

The interventions will be incorporated into the core curriculum of the medical school and of primary care residencies, and will address the practice of clinical nutrition, with particular emphasis on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and associated conditions.  The program will be implemented under the leadership of a physician nutrition specialist, Nancy F. Krebs, who has broad experience in nutrition education of medical students, residents, and other health care trainees.