FBMCLN: Clinical Nutrition

Module code: FBMCLN

Module provider: Food and Nutritional Sciences; School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Orla Kennedy, email: o.b.kennedy@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 27 June 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module will enable you to cover the scientific basis for nutritional support, medical ethics and nutritional counselling.  The module will focus on healthy, sick and metabolically compromised patients. It will help you build skills on clinical nutrition with respect physiological systems and learn about how diet can be used to prevent, treat and support human disease

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Evaluate an individual’s food and nutrient intake and provide critical insight into the results.
2. Conduct an anthropometrical assessment and be confident in the use of common medical assessment techniques (blood pressure, blood flow, bone density etc.)
3. Interpret real-life clinical case-studies and design a relevant nutritional interventional strategy

Module content

1. Introduction to clinical nutrition: a) Definition and scope of clinical nutrition; b) Overview of nutrition assessment and monitoring c) Importance of nutrition in disease management and treatment
2. Nutrition assessment: a) Anthropometric measurements; b) Biochemical markers; c) Dietary intake assessment; d) Clinical evaluation and assessment of nutritional status
3. Clinical nutrition interventions: a) Medical nutrition therapy; b) Enteral and parenteral nutrition support; c) Nutrition support in specific diseases (e.g., cancer, renal failure, diabetes)
4. Ethics and legal issues in clinical nutrition: a) Ethical considerations in clinical nutrition; b) Legal aspects of nutrition support and feeding
5. Emerging topics in clinical nutrition: a) Nutrigenomics and personalized nutrition; b) Artificial nutrition and hydration; c) Nutrition in critical care
6. Case studies in clinical nutrition: a) Review and analysis of real-life clinical cases; b) Application of nutritional assessment and intervention strategies
7. Practical work in clinical nutrition: a) Hands-on experience in a clinical setting; b) Supervised practice and application of nutrition assessment and intervention strategies

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The topics will be divided into: 

1. lectures, seminars
2. practical sessions
3. assessments (e.g. written assignments, presentations, exams). 

The specific content, duration, and mode of delivery will depend on the needs and goals of the program.

Study hours

At least 50 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

For accredited programmes, students need to achieve 50% in each assessment.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

1. Competency test in advance of OSCE; Blackboard feedback
2. Response to real-life case study; feedback; PhD student and student-student. 

Reassessment

Additional costs