VNRS 163: Diet Therapy for the Vocational Nurse

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2024
Credits: 1
Total Contact Hours: 18
Lecture Hours : 18
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 36
Total Student Learning Hours: 54
Prerequisite: VNRS 153 and current admission to the Vocational Nursing program.
Transferable to CSU: No
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

This course presents nutritional needs across the lifespan, including the nutritional needs of healthy adults and the needs of people with certain illnesses, as well as nutritional needs related to pregnancy and lactation. Content includes nutritional assessment and planning and the use of therapeutic diets in the treatment of certain illnesses. This course builds on the fundamentals of nutrition presented in VNRS 153. 18 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • demonstrate effective verbal communication in order to meet the communication needs of the nursing field
  • analyze and integrate the course content and identify the role of nursing in assisting clients in the use of diet therapy in the treatment of disease in order to maximize client compliance and success with diet therapy
  • demonstrate effective written communication in order to meet the communication needs of the nursing field
  • perform accurate calculations of dietary intake in order to identify current nutritional status or determine client nutritional needs
  • integrate knowledge of the functions and utilization of the six essential nutrients and the use of diet therapies based on clients’ medical diagnoses and individual needs in order to apply this knowledge in the care of nursing clients
  • identify and analyze the factors influencing an individual’s dietary habits and choices and the effects these habits and choices have on health in order to understand the complex nature of an individual’s relationship with food
  • demonstrate critical analysis of the use of diet therapy in the treatment of diseases in order to apply these principles to nursing clients
  • analyze, compare, and differentiate the six essential nutrients required in the human diet and describe the body’s utilization of these nutrients in order to understand the role of these nutrients in maintaining health and treating diseases
  • apply critical analysis to the factors that influence the individual’s expectation of compliance with a diet therapy in order to assist nursing clients in implementing dietary changes when needed
  • analyze and describe the role of nursing in assisting clients to implement needed dietary changes to achieve and maintain optimal health in order to contribute to a healthier population

Major Course Content

  1. Nutrition across the lifespan
    1. nutritional needs from infancy through old age
    2. nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation
    3. psychological and cultural influences on nutrition
    4. underweight and overweight: causes, impact, and treatments
    5. eating disorders: causes, impact, and treatments
  2. Assessing and meeting nutritional needs
    1. steps to performing a nutritional assessment
    2. alternative feeding methods: enteral and parenteral feedings
    3. nutritional needs of surgical patients
  3. Nutritional needs of clients with diabetes mellitus
    1. types of diabetes mellitus and associated characteristics
    2. various risk factors, causes, and pathophysiology
    3. symptoms and potential complications
    4. nutritional needs
    5. medical treatment and diet therapy
  4. Nutritional needs of clients with various gastrointestinal diseases
    1. various diseases of the GI tract and their associated characteristics
    2. various risk factors, causes, and pathophysiology
    3. symptoms and potential complications
    4. nutritional needs
    5. medical treatment and diet therapy
  5. Nutritional needs of clients with heart disease
    1. forms of heart disease and associated characteristics
    2. various risk factors, causes, and pathophysiology
    3. symptoms and potential complications
    4. nutritional needs
    5. medical treatment and diet therapy
  6. Nutritional needs of clients with renal disease
    1. forms of heart disease and associated characteristics
    2. various risk factors, causes, and pathophysiology
    3. symptoms and potential complications
    4. nutritional needs
    5. medical treatment and diet therapy
  7. Nutritional needs of clients with cancer and AIDS
    1. commonalities of cancer and AIDS
    2. various risk factors, causes, and pathophysiology
    3. symptoms and potential complications
    4. nutritional needs
    5. medical treatment and diet therapy
  8. Utilization of nutrients in the treatment of various diseases
    1. functions and roles of the six essential nutrients in diet therapy
    2. effects of diseases on the body’s utilization of nutrients
    3. using nutrients to treat diseases through diet therapy

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Online materials and periodicals related to course content.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Design a diet and patient education plan for a patient with new onset Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Watch a presentation from a Registered Dietician addressing specific dietary interventions for patients with specific disease processes

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture