Nutrition Education
Food is medicine. This is why the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) embeds nutrition education into most of its many healthcare training programs.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and human Services (HHS), an estimated 1 million Americans die from diet-related chronic diseases annually – despite the fact that the U.S. spends more than $4.4 trillion annually on chronic disease and mental healthcare. One National Institutes of Health (NIH) report notes that poor diet alone costs Americans at least $50 billion annually.
In an effort to reduce such figures, North Dakota's only comprehensive school of medicine and health sciences has embedded several hours of nutrition education into its medical and other healthcare education programs.
To that end, the School was recognized by HHS in March 2026, for having reached a minimum of 40 credit hours of comprehensive nutrition training in its M.D. curriculum.
The HHS and the U.S. Department of Education jointly announced the Medical Education Nutrition Competency Framework in August 2025. This framework, developed in partnership with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), encourages “America’s leading medical education organizations to immediately implement comprehensive nutrition education and training."
The medical school-focused initiative, which is part of Pres. Trump's Make America Healthy Again program, prioritizes reducing chronic disease through improved diet and public health measures, in part by asking medical schools to better educate future physicians on nutrition.
As of early 2026, North Dakota's medical school is in the minority of medical training programs in the U.S. that have already met the HHS minimum.
Nutrition education hours for UND healthcare trainees
Master of Athletic Training (MAT)
Approved nutrition course pre-requisite for admissions. Nutrition embedded throughout problem-based learning (PBL) scenarios in MAT curriculum.
Medicine (MD)
More than 40 credit hours of nutrition education for each medical student over the course of 20 months of pre-clinical (phase 1) coursework and 20+ months of clinic-based clerkship training (phase 2) in area clinics and hospitals.
Occupational Therapy (OT)
A minimum of three hours of general nutrition content is provided across several courses to support overall health and well-being. OT students receive a minimum of 12 hours instruction on assisting individuals with disabilities by using adapted eating devices, implementing safe feeding and safe swallowing techniques, and promoting healthy eating habits within daily routines.
Physical Therapy (PT)
PT students receive a minimum of 4.5 hours of dedicated nutrition education from a registered dietician in course PT659 (Prevention, Wellness, and Health Promotion) and elsewhere in the PT curriculum. Discussion topics include general and sports nutrition, energy production, and energy utilization in rehabilitation.
Physician Assistant Studies (PA)
Physician assistant students receive a minimum 20 hours of nutritional content in the PA curriculum, across several pre-clinical and clinic-based core and elective courses.
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Multiple courses in UND's MPH curriculum address nutrition at the population health level, including the 9-credit biostatistics series (PH531/532/533), PH570 (Food Law & Population Health), and a new "Introduction to Clinical Trials" course.
“We must stop chronic diseases before they begin—otherwise, a healthier America will remain beyond our reach,” said UND’s Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Marjorie Jenkins, M.D., after UND was recognized by HHS for its nutrition education efforts. “This initiative empowers and educates the next generation of healthcare providers. Food is medicine, and it’s a testament to the faculty and students at our university that they were having these conversations about nutrition and disease prevention years ago.”