Improving Hospital Internship Course for Nutrition Students Using a Comprehensive Checklist for Nutritional Assessment and Patient Treatment

Background: Diet and nutritional supplement consumption play a pivotal role in disease treatment. Objectives: This study aimed to improve the hospital internship course for nutrition students by implementing a comprehensive checklist for nutritional assessment and patient treatment within the nutrition department of Semnan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The study assessed the impact of enhancing the nutrition internship course on students’ educational performance and satisfaction. Two tools were utilized: A comprehensive checklist for patient treatment assessment and a questionnaire evaluating students' satisfaction with internship quality. The checklist and questionnaire were validated with content validity ratio (CVR) scores of 0.98 and 0.92 and content validity index (CVI) scores of 0.89 and 0.86, respectively. The study employed a census method, involving 28 students from two different classes. A t-test was used to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness. Results: An analysis of the primary domains of students' educational performance before and after the internship course modifications revealed significant improvements. The "patient assessment" domain increased from 29% to 95%, "patients' treatment" from 59% to 100%, and "overall performance" from 40% to 97%. Additionally, the level of satisfaction among students significantly increased (P < 0.001). Satisfaction improved in "educational planning" from 42% to 85%, "learning-teaching method" from 38% to 88%, "educational evaluation" from 38% to 92%, and "overall satisfaction" from 39% to 89% (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings highlight that targeted performance initiatives can significantly enhance both educational outcomes and student satisfaction during hospital internships.