EVIDENCE-INFORMED NUTRITION FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY PRACTITIONERS

COURSE DESCRIPTION

We all know the saying, “You Are What You Eat.” But, do we ever think about our patients with that in mind? That what they eat could be influencing their overall health and even their rehab outcomes. Because in reality nutritional intake does affect the human body in how it recovers, ages, and becomes at risk of developing chronic diseases. With that said, nutrition should be considered as a principal component to patient care and integrated when necessary and appropriate.

This course will provide you as a practitioner with the resources and skills to appropriately implement nutritional concepts into patient care. Including many important factors along the way, such as determining nutritional needs among different populations, navigating professional scopes of practice, and using a patient’s readiness to change to provide the right kind of evidence-informed nutrition education at the right time.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:

1. Recall information on nutritional science, nutritional determinants, and evidence-based nutritional research.
2. Identify the role that nutrition plays in physical therapy patient/client care and appreciate the similarities and differences that exist among special populations.
3. Utilize nutritional screening tools to determine the existence of nutritional needs and if there is a need for referral and/or interprofessional collaboration.
4. Implement evidence-informed nutritional education and behavioral change techniques.