These are three nutrition education tips that help when you’re not confident in clinical nutrition. You’ll have better clinical conversations and feel confident while you do them.
Not confident in clinical? Here are 3 nutrition education tips that work
It’s easy to get overwhelmed at even the idea of doing clinical nutrition when you’re a new dietitian.
And for really good reasons!
You’re still learning how the world of clinical nutrition works. Plus you might be talking to people two or three times your age, PhDs, or even other health care professionals. And you’ll be telling them what they should be eating.
Top that off with the fact that nutrition is always a trending topic. Many patients already think they know everything they need to do to be healthier.
Or they have a daughter who’s done all the necessary research. Or even a nephew who’s giving out health advice after reading up on WebMD.
All of this means that when you walk into a room, it’s easy to already feel a step behind the people you’re tasked to support.
Nutrition education tips that work: 3 steps to follow every time
When you’re starting out as a new RD and doing clinical nutrition counseling for the first time, there are a few things to keep in mind.
These things are especially useful if you feel like you haven’t quite gotten the handle on all the MNT you think you should know and worry about the kinds of questions you might not be able to answer.
Here are three steps to take that will focus your attention so you can do clear and simple nutrition education sessions every time.
- Identify your patient’s medical and nutritional needs before your visit
- Talk to your patient and figure out what they want to know
- Find the point where what you want to share about their MNT overlaps with what they want to know
Let’s take a look at each of these.
STEP 1: Identify your patient’s medical and nutrition needs before your visit
Without question, your first step is to determine what you currently know and what you need to know.
Taking a look at the medical record for your patient will always be the first place you look for information. And this essential pre-visit step should never be missed.
When you walk through the doors of your patient’s room, you need to be as fully informed on who they are and their potential needs.
This means you should be:
- Clear about what their health conditions are
- What path the medical team is taking to manage those conditions
- How nutrition can support your patient is improving their health outcomes as quickly as possible
Once you’ve pulled this information together, you can collect a few patient education handouts. As well as other items that might help your patient better understand what their next steps for better health might look like.
But don’t go overboard here.
You should carefully limit the packet of handouts you create to the specific issues you’d like your patient to focus on. A good rule of thumb is to focus on one or two topics.
And because visiting your patient usually happens after a full chart review. You’ll have had time to think about the most acute nutritional issues they have. As well as what missing information you want to get from them.
These are the primary considerations to follow before you ever step foot in your patient’s room.
STEP 2: Find out what your patient wants
Step two is all about finding out what your patient wants to know.
The first time you walk into your patient’s room, you should be fully prepared with:
- Exactly what your patient’s most acute issue is and what you can do about that nutritionally (if anything)
- Any printed information you might want to share with them about their health and how to improve it through diet and lifestyle
- Clarity on what additional information you’re missing that you need your patient to share with you
But talking to your patient goes way beyond checking each of these things off your list. Then firing off some questions to fill the gaps in what you know, dropping some handouts on the side table. And ultimately walking out of their room…job complete.
The preparation you’ve done in step one should take you right up to the point of knowing everything. Except what your patient actually wants to work on.
Even though you will walk into their room with all your research, handouts, and questions about their health ready to be asked. The biggest question of all will always be what your patient wants to know.
Giving your patient a chance to tell you what they need is maybe the most important thing you can do during a nutrition education session.
A simple: how can I help? goes a long way in showing your patients that you’re interested in what they need and want.
STEP 3: Share resources (when the time is right)
The final step is the hardest: let your patient lead the conversation without forcing them to make a change.
This is one of the hardest things to realize as a new dietitian. Doing nutrition education is that not all of your patients are going to want your advice.
They might not even want to talk to you about nutrition.
And the fastest way to lose focus on what your patient wants in a nutrition education session is by pushing information on them that they aren’t interested or ready to hear.
Just because you’ve done all that research and work before ever meeting them. Does not mean your patient is obligated to care.
And when you ask them a question and they give you an answer, it’s your responsibility to both believe them and give them what they’ve asked for.
Even if they’ve told you they want nothing to do with you.
Keeping all of that in mind, there are always ways to build a bridge between the things your patient is interested in working on and the nutrition support you know can help them live the life they talk about wanting.
- Your patient wants to lose weight and has edema? There’s your in for a low-sodium diet.
- Your patient orders pizza delivery to their room after failing a barium swallow test? Offer to explain what happens if they aspirate and how they can avoid that.
- Your patient isn’t eating enough to support their wound healing? There’s your chance to work in protein-rich food options.
It’s not your job as a dietitian to force your patients to care about how what they eat or don’t eat can affect their health.
But it is your job to figure out what they care about most. And then support them in making the changes that actually matter to them.
What happens if these nutrition tips don’t work?
Sometimes you do everything right and your patient still doesn’t want what you have to offer.
They’re not ready to change their eating habits. They don’t want education on their health needs. And they aren’t ready to talk about their health.
And that’s ok.
When your patient is telling you they aren’t ready that’s your signal to shelve your questions, put a pin in your concerns, and give your patient what they’re asking for.
Knowing how to read the room and prioritize your patient’s requests is part of what it means to do great nutrition educations.
And That’s It!
Those are the three nutrition education tips that will carry you throughout your clinical nutrition career.
Looking for some more information on motivational interviewing and clinical nutrition counseling? Start here by exploring the Nutrition Quick Chats course.
Want even more to help in clinical?
Check out The Nutrition Cheat Sheets Shop for all the nutrition education and clinical resources that will make your life easier.
