Information and credits

The RCN's 'Nutrition Now' campaign has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Abbott Nutrition.

The Learning Zone team would like to acknowledge the support of BMI Healthcare's The Garden Hospital in Hendon for providing the hospital room for the filming of the video sequence in this learning opportunity.

Special thanks also to Liz Evans, Nutrition Specialist Nurse with Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, who gave up her own time to contribute her expertise and acting talents to the video in the "Supporting and assisting people" section of this learning opportunity.

Who is this learning for?

This learning area has been primarily developed for healthcare assistants (HCAs) who make a major contribution to support people's nutritional needs in all care settings.

Student and registered nurses will also find this learning opportunity relevant for updating their own practice. Registered nurses may also wish to use this material to support the professional development of other colleagues to whom they delegate care.

The focus of this learning opportuntiy is on general nutritional needs and does not cover any specific dietary issues people may have due to allergies or medical conditions.

Learning outcomes

After completing all the sections in this learning area, the learner should be able to:

Describe the terms 'nutrition' and 'malnutrition'
Identify the five commonly accepted food groups and describe the components of health eating within these groups
Describe the impact of malnutrition on individuals and the health system
Explain why not meeting people's nutritional needs is a patient safety issue
Describe the rationale for and best practice advice about nutritional screening
Outline the five steps for using the 'Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool' ('MUST')
Briefly describe what the 'Protected Mealtimes' and 'Red Tray' initiatives are and how they support people's nutritional needs in care settings.
Describe correct techniques for assisting people to eat.

Principles of Nursing Practice

The eight Principles of Nursing Practice can be applied to this learning resource however, the principles that feature most predominantly are:

Principle C - being vigilant about risk.
Principle F - having up-to-date knowledge and skills.
Principle G - work with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure care is co-ordinated and of a high standard.

These principles provide a useful framework for writing a reflective record of your learning. You may also think of ways you can draw on the remaining principles based on your own clinical experience and observations.

Relevant KSF dimensions

Core dimension 2 - Personal and People Development
Core dimension 5 - Quality
Health and wellbeing dimension 2 - Assessment and care planning to meet people's health and wellbeing needs
Health and wellbeing dimension 3 - Protection of health and wellbeing
General dimension 1 - Learning and development.