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The provision of essential nutrition-related content in US medical education has been deficient, despite efforts of the federal government and multiple professional organizations. Novel and efficient approaches are needed. A multi-department project was developed to create and pilot a computer-based compact disc instructional program covering the nutrition topics of oral rehydration therapy, calcium, and vitamins. Funded by an internal medical school grant, the content of the modules was written by Department of Pediatrics faculty. The modules were built by School of Informatics faculty and students, and were tested on a convenience sampling of 38 pediatric residents in a randomized controlled trial performed by a registered dietitian/School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Master's degree candidate. The modules were reviewed for content by the pediatric faculty principal investigator and the registered dietitian/School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences graduate student. Residents completed a pretest of nutrition knowledge and attitude toward nutrition and Web-based instruction. Half the group was given three programs (oral rehydration therapy, calcium, and vitamins) on compact disc for study over 6 weeks. Both study and control groups completed a posttest. Pre- and postintervention objective test results in study vs control groups and attitudinal survey results before and after intervention in the study group were compared. The experimental group demonstrated significantly better posttrial objective test performance compared to the control group (P=0.0005). The study group trended toward improvement, whereas the control group performance declined substantially between pre- and posttests. Study group resident attitudes toward computer-based instruction improved. Use of these computer modules prompted almost half of the residents in the study group to independently pursue relevant nutrition-related information. This inexpensive, collaborative, multi-department effort to design a computer-based nutrition curriculum positively impacted both resident knowledge and attitudes.

1. Participants will self-report an enhanced ability to describe preclinical medical and dental students' reactions to early observed encounters with seriously ill and dying patients. 2. Participants will self-report the ability to appraise and apply interprofessional approaches to supporting student wellness in the context of early clinical exposure. Preclinical medical and dental student responses to early observed clinical encounters with seriously ill and dying patients reveal opportunities for faculty to support student wellness. Interprofessional HPM clinician-educators utilize approaches involving validating, educating, and empowering learners following early experiences. Lessons learned from these approaches can inform faculty development around the lived student experience and strategies for proactively supporting student wellness. Previous work highlights the value of preclinical medical student exposure to the practice of hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) and indicates that students may experience strong or unanticipated emotion in early encounters with seriously ill or dying patients. To explore the nature of students' processing of early interactions with seriously ill patients and their families, as well as opportunities for HPM clinician-educators to support student wellness in the context of these experiences. In 2023, 167 first-year medical and dental students at a large urban medical school were assigned a written reflection following a half-day faculty-mentored HPM shadowing experience and debriefing session. An HPM clinician-educator (physician, nurse, social worker, or chaplain) provided a written response to each reflection. Qualitative analysis was utilized to identify themes arising from both student reflections and clinician-educator responses. 150/167 students (90%) submitted reflections; 150/150 reflections (100%) were provided written responses by an HPM clinician-educator. Three primary student content themes were revealed: 1) strong emotions related to witnessing difficult circumstances (e.g., uncontrolled symptoms; imminently dying patients; personally resonant situations), 2) acquisition of new HPM knowledge (e.g., palliative care is not reserved only for end of life), and 3) impact of the experience on anticipated future patient care (e.g., inspiration to build meaningful connections with patients). Primary faculty response themes included: 1) validation of emotion/strategies for self-care, 2) reinforcement of/expanded detail on HPM principles, and 3) sharing personal insights and opportunities for continued professional development. Students' written reflections suggest common themes in processing observations of clinical encounters with seriously ill and dying patients. HPM clinician-educators across professions shared an approach to supporting student wellness that involved validating, educating, and empowering. Lessons learned could inform faculty development around the lived student experience and opportunities to proactively support student wellness. Resilience / Well being / Interdisciplinary Teamwork / Professionalism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]