Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2016; 22(5): 1729-1735
Published online Feb 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i5.1729
Clinical nutrition in the hepatogastroenterology curriculum
Chris JJ Mulder, Geert JA Wanten, Carol E Semrad, Palle B Jeppesen, Hinke M Kruizenga, Nicolette J Wierdsma, Matthijs E Grasman, Adriaan A van Bodegraven
Chris JJ Mulder, Matthijs E Grasman, Adriaan A van Bodegraven, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, 1007 MD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Geert JA Wanten, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Carol E Semrad, Department of Medicine GI Section, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
Palle B Jeppesen, Department of Medical Gastroenterology Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, 2100 KHB Copenhagen, Denmark
Hinke M Kruizenga, Nicolette J Wierdsma, Department of Dietetic, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Adriaan A van Bodegraven, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Geriatrics, ORBIS Medical Center, 6130 MB Sittard-Geleen, The Netherlands
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Chris JJ Mulder, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, PO BOX 7057, 1007 MD Amsterdam, The Netherlands. cjmulder@vumc.nl
Telephone: +31-20-4440613 Fax: +31-20-4440554
Received: May 19, 2015
Peer-review started: May 20, 2015
First decision: July 20, 2015
Revised: July 29, 2015
Accepted: November 19, 2015
Article in press: November 19, 2015
Published online: February 7, 2016
Abstract

Gastroenterology (GE) used to be considered a subspecialty of internal medicine. Today, GE is generally recognized as a wide-ranging specialty incorporating capacities, such as hepatology, oncology and interventional endoscopy, necessitating GE-expert differentiation. Although the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has defined specific expertise areas in Advanced endoscopy, hepatology, digestive oncology and clinical nutrition, training for the latter topic is lacking in the current hepatogastroenterology (HGE) curriculum. Given its relevance for HGE practice, and being at the core of gastrointestinal functioning, there is an obvious need for training in nutrition and related issues including the treatment of disease-related malnutrition and obesity and its associated metabolic derangements. This document aims to be a starting point for the integration of nutritional expertise in the HGE curriculum, allowing a central role in the management of malnutrition and obesity. We suggest minimum endpoints for nutritional knowledge and expertise in the standard curriculum and recommend a focus period of training in nutrition issues in order to produce well-trained HGE specialists. This article provides a road map for the organization of such a training program. We would highly welcome the World Gastroenterology Organisation, the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the American Gastroenterology Association and other (inter)national Gastroenterology societies support the necessary certifications for this item in the HGE-curriculum.

Keywords: Gastroenterology, Training, Clinical nutrition, Malnutrition, Metabolism, Curriculum, Targeted therapy, Enteral feeding, Parenteral feeding, Obesity

Core tip: There is a need for training in nutrition and nutrition related issues because it lies at the core of gastrointestinal functioning and is very relevant to hepatogastroenterology (HGE) practice. At the moment there is no defined standardised nutrition curriculum this document aims to be a starting point for the integration of nutritional expertise in the HGE curriculum.