Application of an Interprofessional Student Exercise to Improve Nutritional Wellness in a Pediatric Clinic

Purpose: Childhood obesity has become a significant problem in the state of Texas, especially in Tarrant County. To address the substantial nutritional education deficiency in the outpatient setting, faculty members of the UNTHSC pediatric clinic initiated a collaboration with the Interprofessional Education (IPE) department at UNTHSC. In collaboration with the dietetic departments at Texas Christian University and Texas Woman’s University, an outpatient internship was established for dietetic students at the UNTHSC pediatric clinic. A qualitative assessment was constructed to establish the success of the interns in the clinical environment and whether dietary information was delivered effectively to the patient and family. Methods: After the multi-faceted interprofessional team including a pediatrician, dietetic intern and medical/PA student concluded the visit with the patient, the patient’s parent received a short anonymous survey completed in the clinic. 4 questions assessed the quality and satisfaction of the visit using a 5-point Likert scale. Only families who had been consulted by the interprofessional team received the survey. Results: One hundred and twenty-one respondents filled out the survey, with 101 being parent/guardians, 17 patients 18+ years of age, and 3 other family members. 86% believed the addition of a dietitian improved the quality of the visit, and 90% were satisfied with the visit as a whole. The addition of the dietary information was viewed as very helpful with 87.6% of parents or patients pledging to apply this information in the near future. Conclusions: The addition of a dietary intern to supplement the dietary education during pediatric visits was well received by patients and parents. By incorporating an Interprofessional team in the patient care, patients can have more of their needs and concerns addressed by a specialist in that field. By working with other institutions, this model of Interprofessional care can be successfully utilized within other local clinics and further applied with other medical professional schools.