Anorexia and Bulimia:Educating Primary Care NP students to Assess and Treat to Promote Recovery

Much attention is on prevention of obesity in children and teens, and yet children, teens, and adults who start diets to lose weight are at risk for developing anorexia or bulimia. A desire to lose weight and “not be fat” can spiral into an obsession to be thin, and an intense fear of gaining weight. Those who use purging or other compensatory behaviors may binge on large amounts of food, often 3000 calories at a time. Teenage girls are at the highest risk for anorexia and bulimia but alarming numbers of males also have eating disorders. Nurse Practitioner students must be competent in assessing and diagnosing eating disorders, and mobilizing multidisciplinary resources for appropriate and effective treatment based on level of risk. We will present current screening and assessment strategies and guidelines for the appropriate level of care based on severity of the eating disorder . National and local resources will be highlighted as well as monitoring guidelines when the patient is in recovery. Two case studies will be presented, one of a patient with anorexia and one with bulimia, useful for classroom and online teaching.