Dr. Stephen Devries, Executive Director of the Gaples Institute, was the instructor for a new one-week in-person class for Harvard public health and medical students this month. Dr. Devries designed the class to enhance nutrition learning and practice in medicine.
Students completed the Gaples Institute’s online clinical nutrition course to build foundational nutrition knowledge. They then spent their classroom time learning practical strategies for leveraging that knowledge as a tool for patient care.
Each student also initiated and reported on a two-part capstone project: (1) a personal change in their own diet, and (2) a plan for a systems-wide nutrition change in their clinical or work environment.
Dr. Devries reported:
“The student projects were diverse and impactful—they included the development of a food bank for a pediatric cancer clinic, a plan for healthy and culturally diverse hospital food options, and even an emergency room program for urgent referrals to dietitians for at-risk patients. These students were so innovative and enthusiastic—exactly the kind of change agents we need.”