Nutrition Education in Nursing Schools in Tennessee

In order to investigate the present state of nutrition education in nursing schools and programs in Tennessee and the nutrition education responsibilities of nurses in general hospitals in the state, surveys were taken by means of questionnaires. Three different questionnaires were developed--one pertaining to the nutrition courses taught in schools of professional nursing, one pertaining to the nutrition taught in programs of Licensed Practical Nursing, and one attempting to ascertain the nutrition education responsibilities of nurses according to directors of nursing in general hospitals in Tennessee.

The data accumulated in this study indicate little variation in nutrition education in programs of practical nursing but great disparity in the schools of professional nursing. The major disparities were observed in the presence of a nutrition course in all of the curricula, the number of hours devoted to nutrition, and other course requirements possibly influencing the amount of nutrition knowledge gained by the student. It was the opinion of the majority of directors of nursing that all nurses would benefit from additional nutrition education in the areas of both normal and therapeutic nutrition.