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Clinical Nutrition, M.S.
Curriculum

Major Requirements

Nutrition Science Core Credits:
CLNU 607 Nutritional Biochemistry and Physiology 3
Mechanisms of nutrient digestion, absorption, transport, utilization, and excretion will be reviewed with emphasis on the role of specific nutrients in maintaining biochemical and physiologic integrity in body systems.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 608 Nutritional Therapy 3
This course is an overview of the practice of clinical nutrition. The pathogenesis, altered requirements due to disease states and/or concomitant therapeutic measures, interactions between drugs and nutrient requirements, and subsequent rationale for nutritional management of the patient will be explored. Methods for patient feeding, including parenteral as well as enteral routes, are discussed with respect to advantages and disadvantages of each technique, concerns regarding the cost efficiency, and formula composition and preparation methods. Students will learn to chart nutrition notes in medical charts using the SOAP system.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
OR
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
CLNU 610 Molecular Biology of the Nutrients I 3
Students will develop a basis for understanding the role of nutrients at the molecular and cellular levels and will relate nutrient function to food sources of the nutrients. The first semester will cover calorimetry, and energetics, protein, carbohydrate and lipid structure, function, digestion, absorption, transport, utilization, and excretion. Cellular and molecular relationships to nutrient utilization will be emphasized. Literature review is required.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 680 Molecular Biology of the Nutrients II 3
Continuation of CLNU 610. The second semester will cover the function of the micronutri­ents in energy production, DNA and protein synthesis, blood formation, structure of bone and connective tissue, antioxidant protection, gene expression, cell activation, and electrolyte function. Literature review is required.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
    Total: 6 Credits
Complete CLNU 607 and CLNU 608, or CLNU 610 and CLNU 680.
 
Clinical Core Credits:
CLNU 635 Community Nutrition 2
Techniques for development, funding, assessment, and evaluation of projects in community and government resources will be studied. Current legislative issues will be discussed along with the methodology necessary to stimulate activities on these issues. Resources for the consumer, including community action and government outreach programs, will be reviewed.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 640 Critical Care/Nutrition Support 2
Students will understand the dynamics of nutrition support delivery within the multidisciplinary environments of acute and chronic care systems and examine the processes through which nutrition care is restructured and refined within the outcomes management and other model systems. Students will learn techniques of data collection and interpretation, as well as develop methods for continuous assessment of service and consumer satisfaction. Lectures and discussions will be supplemented with a variety of invited speakers from health care settings.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 650 Nutritional Pathophysiology I 3
The relationship of pathophysiologic processes to the roles of specific nutrients in the maintenance of cellular and tissue homeostasis is explored. The first semester course will cover changes in systemic mechanisms with disease, including injury, inflammation, hemodynamic derangements, alterations in the immune response, and neoplastic transformations. Literature review is required.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 670 Clinical Nutrition Assessment 2
Balance studies, body composition determinations, anthropometric measures, tests of immune competence, hematologogic indices, and use of information contained in the medical record will be incorporated into this lecture/demonstration course. Students will gain experience in using laboratory values to determine the nutritional status and diet prescription in specific clinical situations. Dietary analysis and techniques for accurate intake calculations will be explored.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 720 Nutritional Pathophysiology II 3
The influence of specific organ system disease on nutritional status, as well as the potential etiologic effect of altered nutrient availability and/or metabolism in the pathogenesis of disease is explored. Includes discussion on diseases of the major organ systems as well as on the brain and central nervous system. Literature review required.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 750 Clinical Nutrition: Theory and Practice I 3
The practice of clinical nutrition is covered in this two-semester course. Together, the courses investigate the pathogenesis of disease, altered nutritional requirements due to disease states and to therapeutic modalities, interactions between drugs and nutrients, and other influences that may compromise nutritional status. Methods for patient feeding, both enteral and parenteral, are discussed, together with methods appropriate to assess nutritional status in the specific patient.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 770 Clinical Nutrition: Theory and Practice II 3
Continuation of CLNU 750. This course covers additional clinical nutrition topics.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
    Total: 18 Credits
 
Electives (complete 12 credits) Credits:
CLNU 615 Topics in Applied Nutrition 3
This course investigates practical solutions in which socioeconomic status, cultural preference, medical or psychological alterations or other factors may interfere with successful nutritional compliance. Patient groups include the geriatric patient, the handicapped adult or child, and the person with multiple nutrition problems. It will be of value to those pro­fessionals who plan to do private consulting and home health care as well as to those who will be working in a health care institution.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 622 Nutritional Assessment Laboratory (traditional format only, Old Westbury campus) 2
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
CLNU 625 Techniques in Epidemiology and Biostatistics 3
Epidemiologic techniques for analysis of population data from surveys, as well as case control retrospective and prospective studies will be reviewed. Biostatistical techniques including cross tabulation, scatter diagrams, histograms and line plots, regression and correlation analysis, analysis of variance, discriminant analysis, factor and spectral analysis will be applied to clinical and experimental data to illustrate techniques available for data analysis and interpretation. Computer statistical packages will be used to facilitate analysis.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 630 Critical Issues in the Food Supply 2
The focus of this course is on understanding the wide ranging effects of the American food system. Selected issues will include changes in food consumption patterns over the last century, changes in nutrient profile of foods, new technologies for home and institutional food preparation, and the effect of modern agribusiness upon the environment. Emphasis is on the influence of cultural diversity, fast foods, and other factors on the American dietary intake.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 645 Nutritional Contributions of Food 2
The structure and physical properties of foods are examined with respect to nutrient content and distribution in the food supply. The effects of agricultural methods, market handling, processing, and home preparation on nutrient quality are considered. The interaction of food components in food preparation methods is discussed and factors that influence food taste, texture, and appearance are explored.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 710 Special Topics in Clinical Nutrition 2
A series of lecture discussions that include case studies in areas of important current nutrition interest. Completion of two case studies is required, and will require evaluation of current research. Tests based on the material in the case studies will be given. Open as an elective course to students in the Masters Program in Clinical Nutrition, as well as to qualified non­matriculants. Topics include nutrition and cancer, nutrition and the immune system, and nutrition and pediatric care.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
CLNU 772 Nutritional Pharmacology 3
For the major classes of drugs currently used in medical therapy, this course will review absorption, distribution, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and excretion. Interactions with nutrients and dietary constituents at any point in these processes, as well as known and potential drug-nutrient-food relationships, dose response considerations, and potential toxicity, will be discussed. Drug nutrient interaction risk will be explored for the patient on parenteral nutrition support, the ambulatory nutrient-compromised patient, and the nutrient-replete patient. Specific, commonly prescribed drugs, together with their specific interactions with food and nutrients, will be covered. The course will provide a mechanistic, rather than an encyclopedic approach, to provide students the tools to assess potential drug-nutrient interactions in new drugs as they are introduced.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 774 Exercise Physiology for Nutrition 3
This course explores the way the human body maintains homeostasis when faced with changing physical demands. Various topics in physiology and exercise physiology will be reviewed, both in general mechanisms and in specific applications to health and pathologies. Emphasis will be placed on neuromuscular and cardiovascular/respiratory physiology. The course will consist of weekly sessions, including three assigned projects, and student presentations. This course will enable the student to understand the various processes that occur: (1) as the direct result of acute exercise; and (2) as the result of chronic exercise, stressing the physiological processes and mechanisms involved and as a result of pathological conditions. Specific topics will include basic muscle, nerve, and cardiopulmonary physiology, as well as bioenergetics, weight control and exercise, diabetes and exercise, exercise testing protocols, electrocardiography, ergogenic aids, fatigue, and other topics related to the needs of the students attending the class.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
CLNU 779 Nutrition Oncology 4
The process of carcinogenesis will be reviewed to provide the foundation needed to address the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The course will provide challenging discussions about controversies in dietary exposure assessment using questionnaires and biological markers in cancer risk assessment. The course will also explore the biology of nutrition and cancer including nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics, epigenetics, and energy balance. Further, the evidence from specific foods, macronutrients, micronutrients, dietary trace metals, and other food constituents will be explored.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-2-4
CLNU 787/788/789 Independent Study 1 credit each
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
CLNU 795 Thesis 3
Students completing the Master of Science may elect to do field clinical experience under supervision. Students will be required to identify a clinical problem, research the literature, create a protocol to study the problem, and carry out the protocol in this field experience. An analytical report will be required upon completion.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
    Total: 12 Credits
 
Required at completion of program Credits:
CLNU 799 Comprehensive Exam 0
All candidates for the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition must pass a comprehensive examination.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 0-0-0
 
Elective Topics Courses Credits:
CLNU 710 Special Topics in Clinical Nutrition 2 credits each
A series of lecture discussions that include case studies in areas of important current nutrition interest. Completion of two case studies is required, and will require evaluation of current research. Tests based on the material in the case studies will be given. Open as an elective course to students in the Masters Program in Clinical Nutrition, as well as to qualified non­matriculants. Topics include nutrition and cancer, nutrition and the immune system, and nutrition and pediatric care.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
Students may elect to take two topics courses (CLNU 710) for a maximum of four credits toward the master's degree requirements. Topics for these courses change each semester according to student needs and interests (i.e., chronic disease; medicinal botanicals; cardiovascular disease; cancer; developmental, maternal, and infant pediatrics; geriatrics; and eating disorders).
 
Total Required Credits = 36