Is the Nutrition Care Process patient centered??

Patient centered...not dietitian centric!!

One of the questions that inevitably comes up is.... whether the Nutrition Care Process is patient centered...or where is the patient in this process?

While the nutrition care process reflects the critical thinking and approach to care that is taken by the dietitian, the model reflects the rest of the system that we work in and shows our relationship to the patient.

Both of the two versions of the Nutrition Care Process and Model published by the Academy included a description of the rationale for each component of the NCPM.  The articles describe the factors that influence and impact the quality of nutrition care provided.

The Lacey and Pritchett 2003 article that described the first model states:   "Central to providing nutrition care is the relationship between the patient/client/group and the dietetics professional."

For symbolic purposes this has been placed at the core, or the very center of the model, specifically identifying the importance of the relationship between dietitian and the person receiving the nutrition care.  

The second article published in 2008 that described the revised model states: "The central core of the model depicts the essential and collaborative partnership with a patient/client"

In other words the entire nutrition care process revolves around the patient who is in the center of it all and involved in all steps of the nutrition care process.

Earlier work completed by Marian Hammond that set the stage for the Academy's model also featured the importance of the relationship between the client and the dietitian.  An upcoming article in the Journal of Academy and Nutrition will show the continued importance of the concept of relationship with the patient throughout all of her iterations as well as how it has been continued in the Academy models.

So the short answer to "Is the nutrition care process patient centered?" is easy to answer....absolutely....just look at the model and you see that the importance of the partnership and relationship between the dietitian and the patient is even more important than the actual steps in the process...it is at the CORE of the model.