How to do a nutrition assessment
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Malnutrition slows healing and raises complications. Screen early and act.
Step by step
Weight
Current weight, BMI, and unintended loss. [1]
Intake
Usual diet, appetite, recent intake, special diets. [1]
Barriers
Swallowing, teeth, nausea, money, cooking ability. [1]
Screen
Use a validated screening tool from your facility. [1]
Physical signs
Muscle wasting, loss of fat, swelling, skin and hair changes. [1]
Labs and refer
Review labs and refer to a dietitian when at risk. [1]
Common errors
- Using BMI alone.
- Not asking about swallowing.
- Not referring.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- ADHD with weight loss
- Neonatal jaundice
- Bronchiolitis in an infant
- Ventricular septal defect
- Primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison)
- Type 1 diabetes
29 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference)
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.