Nutrition is well-recognized as a necessary component of educational programs for physicians. This is to be valued in that of all factors affecting health in the United States, none is more important than nutrition. This can be argued from various perspectives, including health promotion, disease prevention, and therapeutic management. In all cases, serious consideration of nutrition related issues in the practice is seen to be one means to achieve cost-effective medical care. These modules were developed to provide more practical knowledge for primary care physicians in recognizing nutrition-related problems associated with hospital and home care. Application of the material in this module will assist the physician in planning for the hospital stay, shortening the stay, and improving whole health care outcomes. Included are learning goals and objectives, a self-check of achievement with regard to goals, resources for the physician and patient, and references. Appendices include calculation formulas for body composition and weight, procedures for measuring arm muscle circumference, charts of urinary creatinine and ideal weight for height, protein status evaluation criteria, an anergic metabolic profile chart, a nutrition guide, recommended daily dietary allowances, guidelines for criteria of nutritional status, a chart of the composition of oral and enteral supplements, and a logic tree for the use of feeding modules in nutritional support. (CW)