Teaching nutritional assessment to nursing students.

: A data collection tool was developed to teach nursing students basic principles of nutritional assessment. The tool was used to help nurses coordinate and interpret data they routinely collected so they would be more aware of real and potential nutritional problems. Emphasis was on those aspects of nutritional care relevant to the nurse's advocates in communicating these concerns to the dietitian. Observation and early referral of potential diet-related problems enables the dietitian to more effectively provide for nutritional care.