Proper nutrition is the cornerstone of preventative medicine with chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other conditions strongly linked to diet.  Nutrition science is a rapidly evolving field, and guidelines on everything from fat intake to fasting to microbiome research change frequently.  Many medical schools offer a minimal amount of nutrition education for physicians spread out over years of schooling.  Doctors may not receive further nutrition education throughout their careers if they don’t seek it out.
 
For these reasons, I will soon introduce legislation requiring physicians in Pennsylvania to take one hour of continuing medical education (CME) in nutrition each two-year licensing period.  This one hour will be part of the 100 hours of CME that physicians are required to take and will still allow for the majority of their CME to be in their chosen specialty area.
 
With nutrition tips and diet fads coming from every corner of the internet and social media, surveys show that patients consider physicians a trusted source of dietary advice.  CME in nutrition will help keep doctors up to date with evidence-backed nutrition science, enabling them to offer holistic care to patients.
 
Not only will continued nutrition education benefit patients, but by adding this CME, Pennsylvania can strengthen its application for federal grant funding under the Rural Health Transformation Program. 
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this simple legislation to increase nutrition education and help Pennsylvania earn the maximum federal support for our rural communities.