The 2022 ACEND Standards require students to explain the steps of feeding tube placement, observe placement and if able, assist in the placement of a tube. Educators may struggle to know where to begin in meeting this requirement. For preceptors, knowing what is taught in the classroom prior to students entering the clinical setting is valuable.

This session reviews what to include in a nutrition and dietetics curriculum to begin training students on the steps of feeding tube placement. The contents of this session can be used for any educational setting regardless of access to a simulation lab. Clinical preceptors can utilize the steps detailed in this session to continue education and training with students. The session describes an enteral nutrition simulation workshop designed for graduate-level nutrition and dietetics students to promote skill development for the placement of feeding tubes and to reinforce concepts of enteral nutrition.

The workshop incorporates simulation and active learning techniques to cover areas of practice including placement of feeding tubes, care of a patient with a nasogastric and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, patient education on enteral nutrition, and exploration of necessary equipment for administering enteral nutrition and hydration.