Culinary medicine is a new, evidence-based field combining the joy of cooking with the science of nutrition. The practice has the potential to help people improve their eating behaviors and can enhance food agency, improve food security, and help prevent obesity-related chronic health disease. Yet despite these benefits, there is currently no consensus on the learning objectives, curricula, or facilities best suited to teach culinary medicine principles.
With support from the Frymoyer Scholars Program, Rebecca Nagle, D.N.P., PNP, RN, a clinical instructor in Nursing and nurse practitioner at Timberlane Pediatrics, has outlined a culinary medicine curriculum for UVM's graduate nursing program that will enhance students’ ability to incorporate nutrition counseling into patient care.
The curriculum introduces technical skills for cooking, a consideration of cultural and social influences in cooking preferences, ideals of mindful intuitive eating, and strategies to cook on a budget. Together, these concepts will equip future nurse practitioners to introduce the role of healthy eating for self-care and overall wellness and as a tool for both disease prevention and treatment while addressing the barriers to healthy eating for their patients.
“Both the tools and the ingredients used were chosen with budget in mind, helping students begin to address food insecurity, health access, and the barriers one may face when cooking for health,” Nagle said. “When students can translate nutrition science into personal eating habits that are healthy, simple, and appetizing, they will be better equipped to provide effective nutrition counseling to their patients.”
Nagle has worked in pediatrics as both a registered nurse and a primary care nurse practitioner. She is certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, works with breastfeeding mothers in her pediatric practice, and is an Integrative Nursing Faculty Fellow at the University of Arizona.
The Frymoyer Scholars Program, funded by the John W. and Nan P. Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education, supports physicians and nurses who are actively engaged in teaching University of Vermont medical and nursing students and who embody the best qualities of the clinician teacher. The program is an investment in outstanding medical education and promotes teaching that emphasizes the art of patient care.