14 – Interviews with Doctors

Key Insights

• Nutrients play no role in the later professional life of most doctors – except when it comes to certain diseases, such as diseases of the intestinal tract.
• Nutrients hardly play a role in traditional medical studies – only in one subject in the lower semesters, you learn about biochemical processes and interrelationships in the body. This is the only course in medical studies that deals with (micro) nutrients.
• In American medicine there is much more research and teaching done in the field of nutrients

Interview 1: Dr. Daniel Krause (26)

• Medical Student
• Likes to go out with friends
• In the practical year of his medical studies
• Wants to specialize in anesthesiology

Hi, I have a few questions about micro- and macronutrients. First of all, I would be interested to know whether this has ever been a topic for you and if so, to what extent and in how much detail?

Actually only in the first few semesters of biochemistry for the molecular processes and then only very sporadically, if at all, as a sub-sentence of other topics.

Oh okay, so you don’t really know much about it then? Did you ever have anything to do with nutrients during your work as an anesthesiologist? And are there specialists/departments that have more to do with it and learn more about it during their studies than you do with your specializations?

To be honest, no. There are also special dieticians in hospitals who take care of the nutrition of patients for whom this is relevant. There are of course a few things that are clinically relevant that we learn more about (e.g. vitamin D). I’m currently in anesthesia, so I have nothing to do with nutrition. Of course, there are doctors who specialize in nutrition, but I would say that’s a rather small niche. But in everyday clinical practice, it’s mainly dieticians. In the intensive care unit, where people tend to be fed intravenously or via a tube, people are of course more familiar with this.

Interview 2: Dr. Leon P. (32)

• Trauma surgeon
• Finished his medical studies in 9 days
• Likes to meet friends
• Game nights with his flatmates

Hi, I have a few questions about micro- and macronutrients. First of all, I would be interested to know whether this was a topic in your studies at some point and if so, to what extent and in how much detail?

Yes and no. I didn’t just study German medicine, I also did the Austrian degree and I have to be honest, the Americans are worlds ahead of us Austrians. For them it was really often an issue, whereas here in Austria it was given very short shrift. So of course, you hear about it at the beginning when it comes to processes and such, but then it’s hardly mentioned at all, apart from a few individual diseases that are classically related to nutrients, such as diabetes mellitus, …

To what extent do you come into contact with the topic of nutrients in your normal, everyday working life?

Well, I’m a trauma surgeon, so that doesn’t matter at all!