MAERN4200 Clinical Nutrition Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian

In this course, students will learn how to make simple nutritional assessments and how to provide dietary advice for users and patients. Different types of special diets and nutritional supplements are discussed in this context. The students will be given an introduction to rules and regulations concerning practical nutrition work, including the roles of different expert groups in this work.

Completed MAERN4100 Energy and Nutrients.

Language of instruction: Norwegian and English

This course covers the research process from the planning phase until completion of the master’s thesis, including literary searches and referencing, formulation of research questions/hypotheses/issues, choice of research method and development of a project description, as well as ethical assessments relating to the student’s own work. Formal requirements for the project description are also covered to enable the student to complete the project description for their master’s thesis by the end of the course.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can describe and dicuss how key nutritional challenges are treated using diet in selected user and patient groups
• can assess the need for and compare different types of special diets and nutritional supplements
• can describe how the effect of certain medication can affect nutritional status, and vice versa

Skills

The student

• can perform a simple nutritional assessment of users and patients
• can provide dietary advice

General competence

The student

• can describe and discuss ethical aspects related to dietary treatment of disease
• knows responsibilities in multidisciplinary nutritional work and can collaborate with clinical dietitians and other health professionals

Language of instruction: Norwegian/English

Under supervision, the students will conduct an independent research or development project, or a literaturestudy. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. On application, large, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations if they so wish, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. If more than one student work on the master’s thesis together, each student’s contributions must be documented. The thesis can be written as a monograph or as a scientific article on a specialised topic.

Development of the project description in preparation for the master’s thesis is part of the course MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits.

The course will use varied, student-active work methods. The teaching will be given digital and physical, in addition to blended learning with seminars on campus during the course. Work and teaching methods include digital and physical lectures, individual literature studies and written work, oral presentations, group discussions and supervision. Up to two hours of guidance is given on the project description.

Individual home examination - online multiple choice with open and closed questions. Duration 1 (one) hour.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the examination:

• compulsory attendance and participation at seminar days for your own specialisation
• presentation of own student’s project description for the master’s thesis with subsequent discussion in a plenary session
• held the role of opponent, providing feedback on one or more fellow students' project plan (peer assessment/opponent)

Work and teaching methods used in the course are self-study, three to six master’s seminars with presentations, and an offer of 20 hours’ supervision per thesis, regardless of whether it is written individually or in a group.

The seminars are an arena for sharing experience from all stages of the project work. Students will take part in academic discussion and practise structuring and wording academic argumentation and communicating constructive criticism. Presenting their work, giving feedback to fellow students, and receiving feedback from fellow students and teachers, are important parts of the seminars.

The supervision agreement is signed by the students and supervisors at the start of the supervision.

When a group of students work together, an overview of each student’s individual contribution must be enclosed with the assignment.

The following must have been approved in order for a student to be permitted to take the examination:

• Two oral presentations (up to 20 minutes each) at the master seminar, and completion of the opponent role with critique/feedback on the presentation from fellow students.

All answers are assessed by one examiner.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.