Nutritank
1826. Iain Broadley
1827. Ally Jaffee
Dr Iain Broadley and Dr Ally Jaffee, from Winchester and London, are junior doctors who set up ‘Nutritank’ as medical students at Bristol University, a student-led nutrition and lifestyle medicine community which aims to boost education in nutrition science and share knowledge on healthy eating.
Iain and Ally teamed up whilst both studying during their third year after feeling that the importance of food and nutrition in medicine was often overlooked in medical training, and that sharing more information about diets and healthy lifestyles could empower patients to better improve physical and mental health. Since launching in Bristol, the movement has spread to over 25 medical schools in universities across the country, as well as operating online, acting as a resource hub and community forum for medical students to connect with one another whilst sharing latest research in nutrition science. ‘Nutritank’ is aiming to further improve patient care through their campaign #nutrition4medics, which has been supported by figures including chef Jamie Oliver, and has also recently helped launch the new nutrition curriculum for undergraduate medical doctors, which has been under development for the past three and a half years, led by the ‘Association for Nutrition’. The new curriculum provides a gold standard that medical schools can use to base their nutrition and lifestyle medicine teaching on, ensuring thousands of future doctors will have further understanding of how they can tackle diet-related chronic disease.
In a personal letter to Ally, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Alongside Iain, you have raised awareness of nutrition and healthy eating among your fellow junior doctors and successfully introduced your work to over twenty medical schools nationwide.
“The pandemic has shown us all the importance of staying healthy and well and so I applaud your work. Allow me also to thank you for your frontline work during the pandemic. As a nation, we owe a debt of gratitude to everyone in the NHS who looked after us during the pandemic.”
In a personal letter to Iain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“One of the greatest lessons from the pandemic, and one I know personally, is that we need to stay fit and healthy to protect our overall health. Diet is an important part of this and it is vital that our medical students learn about nutrition. So congratulations on achieving this.
“Thank you also for your work during the pandemic. There are insufficient words to express my gratitude and admiration for our NHS staff. Alongside Ally, you have kept the nation going over the last two years.”
Ally said:
“To receive notification of this prestigious award on my 26th Birthday was a truly delightful gift. Thank you for this recognition, I’m very proud and overjoyed. At ‘Nutritank’, we are on a mission to improve patient care by our campaign #nutrition4medics which we have worked on with Jamie Oliver among many others. Our mission is for every healthcare professional to be trained in giving nutrition and lifestyle advice to help as many patients prevent chronic disease from happening and to help those with active chronic disease manage their symptoms, to live better.”
Iain said:
“It’s such an honour to receive this prestigious award and for the recognition it brings to our important work, thank you so much. It was especially moral boosting to receive the news during a busy hospital shift where I work as a junior doctor.
“For the past 5 years Nutritank has been on a mission to improve nutrition and lifestyle medicine education for healthcare professionals so we can serve our patients better. Working on our campaign #nutrition4medics alongside Jamie Oliver among many others, our vision is that every medical doctor and healthcare professional can provide evidence-based nutrition and self-care advice to their parents to prevent and actively manage lifestyle related chronic disease.”