Organizing the Estonian Physicians’ Nutritional and Dietetics Society in Tartu University Hospital

Abstract

Along with everyday clinical work, many nurses and physicians are dealing with clinical nutrition – counselling of patients, nutrition research and cooperation with specialists. It is essential to organise the clinical nutrition of inpatients, outpatients and home-care patients. Patients with chronic diseases and their carers expect increasingly profound information and guidelines about their nutrition from their attending physicians or department nurses and later at home – for this, specific guidelines are needed.

An initiative group of physicians at Tartu University Hospital founded the Estonian Physicians’ Nutritional and Dietetics Society. The aims of the Estonian Physicians’ Nutritional and Dietetics Society are development of cooperation and information exchange with specialists in different areas, development and conducting of continuing education programmes in dietetics in cooperation with the Centre for Continuing Medical Education at the University of Tartu. The terminology of dietetics needs unification and updating. Disease-specific clinical nutrition guidelines have to be compiled and published.