Nutrition as Medicine, Food Sensitivities, and Chronic Disease: a Mini Curriculum Shaped by Transformative Learning Theory.

Nutrition-related diseases are preventable twenty-first-century health problems. Students report being underprepared for nutritional therapeutics. We developed a mini, spiral curriculum shaped by transformative learning theory and centered on nutrition as medicine, food sensitivities, and chronic disease to kick-start a shift in cognition, attitudes, and skills. Seven demographically representative students participated in the 3-week curriculum. Visual, textual, and verbal data were captured and analyzed qualitatively. We found the curriculum evoked paradigm transformation that persisted 6 months later and facilitated opportunities for our cohort to self-identify learning gaps and consider how they related to their current and future goals for patient care.