lOMoARcPSD|62982272
Ahhh the CJE Nutrition Benchmark — that one sneaks up on people because it isn’t just “what vitamin
is in oranges.”
It’s basically: can you connect nutrition to patient safety and clinical decisions?
They write those questions as mini-scenarios, not straight recall.
Here’s what you really want to review (this is very close to how the exam writers think):
1) Malnutrition recognition (VERY HIGH YIELD)
You will almost definitely get questions where you must identify a patient at risk before labs even come
back.
Know the red flags:
unintentional weight loss (>5% in 1 month, >10% in 6 months)
muscle wasting (temples, clavicles, shoulders)
poor wound healing
fatigue, weakness
edema with low albumin
elderly living alone
cancer, COPD, CHF, dementia, stroke
alcoholism
difficulty chewing/swallowing
Big CJE concept:
The nurse intervenes before severe lab abnormalities.
2) Albumin, Prealbumin & Labs
You’re not memorizing numbers — you’re interpreting what they mean.
You should know:
Lab What it tells you
Albumin long-term nutrition status
Prealbumin recent intake (changes fast)
Transferrin protein status
Total protein overall nutrition
Hgb/Hct iron deficiency anemia possibility
Critical thinking they test:
Low albumin + edema ≠ fluid overload
It often = protein deficiency
Downloaded by elizabeth moses ()
, lOMoARcPSD|62982272
3) Therapeutic Diets (HUGE)
You will 100% get “which tray is correct” questions.
Know these:
Diabetic
consistent carbs
avoid simple sugars
bedtime snack for insulin users
Cardiac (DASH/low sodium)
low salt
avoid processed foods
fluid restriction in CHF
Renal
This is a favorite.
Chronic kidney disease:
low potassium
low phosphorus
low sodium
controlled protein
Avoid:
bananas
oranges
potatoes
tomatoes
dairy (phosphorus)
Liver disease
high calories
moderate protein
low sodium (ascites)
Iron deficiency anemia
Give with vitamin C
Avoid giving with:
Downloaded by elizabeth moses ()
Ahhh the CJE Nutrition Benchmark — that one sneaks up on people because it isn’t just “what vitamin
is in oranges.”
It’s basically: can you connect nutrition to patient safety and clinical decisions?
They write those questions as mini-scenarios, not straight recall.
Here’s what you really want to review (this is very close to how the exam writers think):
1) Malnutrition recognition (VERY HIGH YIELD)
You will almost definitely get questions where you must identify a patient at risk before labs even come
back.
Know the red flags:
unintentional weight loss (>5% in 1 month, >10% in 6 months)
muscle wasting (temples, clavicles, shoulders)
poor wound healing
fatigue, weakness
edema with low albumin
elderly living alone
cancer, COPD, CHF, dementia, stroke
alcoholism
difficulty chewing/swallowing
Big CJE concept:
The nurse intervenes before severe lab abnormalities.
2) Albumin, Prealbumin & Labs
You’re not memorizing numbers — you’re interpreting what they mean.
You should know:
Lab What it tells you
Albumin long-term nutrition status
Prealbumin recent intake (changes fast)
Transferrin protein status
Total protein overall nutrition
Hgb/Hct iron deficiency anemia possibility
Critical thinking they test:
Low albumin + edema ≠ fluid overload
It often = protein deficiency
Downloaded by elizabeth moses ()
, lOMoARcPSD|62982272
3) Therapeutic Diets (HUGE)
You will 100% get “which tray is correct” questions.
Know these:
Diabetic
consistent carbs
avoid simple sugars
bedtime snack for insulin users
Cardiac (DASH/low sodium)
low salt
avoid processed foods
fluid restriction in CHF
Renal
This is a favorite.
Chronic kidney disease:
low potassium
low phosphorus
low sodium
controlled protein
Avoid:
bananas
oranges
potatoes
tomatoes
dairy (phosphorus)
Liver disease
high calories
moderate protein
low sodium (ascites)
Iron deficiency anemia
Give with vitamin C
Avoid giving with:
Downloaded by elizabeth moses ()
