In this blog post, we will introduce how nutritionists working in hospitals contribute to patient care and recovery.
When most people hear the word “nutritionist,” they think of someone who is responsible for school lunches. In fact, when I tell people that I majored in food and nutrition, they usually ask me if I want to become a nutritionist, and regardless of my answer, they start complaining about school lunches. They complain that the food doesn’t taste good or that the portions are too small. However, dietitians work in a variety of places, one of which is hospitals. In order to obtain a dietitian license, it is mandatory to complete on-the-job training, which is mainly conducted at university hospitals. In this blog post, I would like to explain what it is like to work as a dietitian at a hospital. The profession of dietitian is becoming increasingly important in modern society. This is because it is directly related to our health.
Nutritionists working in hospitals, in particular, play an important role in helping patients with their treatment and recovery, going beyond simply managing their diets. Nutrition management tailored to various diseases and health conditions is necessary, and the expertise and experience of nutritionists are essential. Through this internship, I gained a deeper understanding of the role of nutritionists in hospitals, which has greatly influenced my future career choices.
The work of nutritionists in hospitals is divided into clinical nutrition management and food service nutrition management. Clinical nutrition management is for disease management and is done based on doctors’ orders. The job includes managing the nutrition of patients in the hospital and giving nutrition counseling and education to inpatients and outpatients. For patients in the hospital, it’s super important to keep them well-nourished so they can get treated quickly, so nutritionists visit patients directly to give nutrition counseling and education based on doctors’ orders. Long-term hospitalization often leads to poor nutrition, so detailed nutritional status and risk factors are assessed, and nutrition management is carried out according to the patient’s condition and age.
Education methods for hospitalized patients may include classroom-based methods. For example, diabetes classes, gastric resection classes, and post-cancer treatment classes are held within the hospital. Patients and their guardians who wish to participate gather at a designated place and time to receive lecture-style education. This education is mainly conducted by doctors, nurses, and nutritionists in that order. Taking “education for patients who have undergone gastric resection” as an example, doctors provide education on understanding stomach cancer, nurses provide education on post-operative care, and finally, nutritionists provide education on nutrition after stomach cancer surgery. For effective education, important points are emphasized and repeated to encourage participation. Such patient education programs greatly help patients and their families understand and manage the disease and contribute to the long-term health management of patients.
After discharge, nutritional counseling that includes long-term education and treatment is provided to aid recovery. Furthermore, outpatient counseling is provided to investigate the patient’s eating habits and medical history and identify problems with their eating habits and the reasons behind them. Based on this, an individualized nutritional treatment plan is created. Behavior modification therapy, exercise therapy, and diet therapy are included to improve food intake. In addition, information such as recipes, meal recommendations, and cooking tips are provided. Such counseling and education are essential for patients to maintain healthy eating habits at home.
Meal nutrition management is responsible for the overall management of patient meals, including food inspection, meal inspection, menu planning, and meal preparation. Hospital meals are provided based on the doctor’s diagnosis and prescription and are mainly prepared according to hospital diet guidelines or menu planning guidelines. The types of meals provided in hospital food service include regular meals, therapeutic meals, enteral nutrition, clinical trial meals, and outpatient meals. Therapeutic meals include low-salt meals, meals for liver cirrhosis, high-protein meals, meals after stomach/esophagus resection, diabetic meals, meals for dysphagia, low-protein meals, and iodine-restricted meals, which are provided in a more individualized manner than regular meals. Before meals are served to patients, a doctor’s order is received, a nurse enters the prescription, a work slip is printed, meals are prepared, meal preparations are checked and confirmed, and finally, meals are served to patients.
Hospital nutritionists also plan menus that take into account patients’ preferences and cultural backgrounds. This is an important factor in helping patients enjoy their meals as much as possible during their hospital stay. Since patients from various cultural backgrounds use hospitals, it is necessary to understand and respect their cultural eating habits. This helps patients achieve better treatment outcomes.
As you can see, nutritionists play an important role outside of schools. In addition to hospitals, they also work in industrial companies, social welfare facilities, and childcare facilities, where they are responsible for the nutritional intake of their clients. For example, nutritionists working in industrial companies are responsible for providing nutritional counseling and healthy meals for the health of employees. Social welfare facilities operate nutrition programs for the elderly and low-income families, and infant care facilities provide nutritional management to help children grow and develop. I hope that people will recognize that nutritionists work in a wide variety of places. It is important to recognize that the profession of nutritionist plays an essential role in helping us live healthy and energetic lives.
