With many inpatients suffering from malnutrition, it is important that nutritional plans are developed and implemented to ensure their well-being after discharge. This involves an understanding of nutrition as a social determinant of health and the healthcare complications that arise because of malnutrition.

During an Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) webinar, “From Hospital to Home: Bridging the Nutritional Gap,” Beth Quatrara, DNP, RN, CMSRN, ACNS-BC, explained the characteristics of malnourishment, preventable malnutrition-related complications, and interventions for malnourishment in patients. The webinar will include a discussion of different malnutrition screenings and assessments, food insecurity, and resources that can be offered to patients at discharge to ensure they have access to healthy foods and to promote their well-being as they move from hospital to home.

The medical-surgical nurses who attend the webinar will gain a better understanding of the role of nurses in intervening when patients show signs of malnutrition. They also will receive information that will make them better able to assist patients in gaining access to food sources post-discharge.

“This webinar is important because although Florence Nightingale cited nurses’ role in nutrition centuries ago, our patients continue to suffer from malnutrition. Malnutrition leads to complications. Many patients enter the hospital malnourished, become more malnourished during their hospitalization, and return home to conditions of food insecurity,” Quatrara says. “However, we can intervene. We can break this cycle. We can work to prioritize nutrition and build bridges that help our patients overcome the barriers of food insecurity at discharge, leading to a healthier life.”

The webinar recording is available to AMSN members for $10 and non-members for $20.