INTRODUCTION: The nutritional status of patients plays a fundamental role in the evolution and prognosis of different conditions, and the knowledge and attitudes of physicians are a fundamental part of this process. GENERAL OBJECTIVE: To characterize the knowledge and attitudes of resident physicians in internal medicine and general surgery in relation to clinical nutrition in five Universities of the southwest and the Colombian coffee axis and establish if their academic programs influence the results obtained. METHODOLOGY: A survey was applied to resident physicians of the aforementioned programs that covered three aspects: socio demographic data, knowledge test on nutritional valuation and artificial nutrition and test on Likert scale attitudes. RESULTS: RESULTS: A convenience sample of 70 out of 174 possible participants was obtained. The majority were men, internal medicine residents of the first and second years. The average of correct answers was 8/20 (95% CI). Women, residents of 1 and 2 years of residence and participants with less than 1 year of clinical experience obtained better average of correct answers. In qualitative terms, 29% of the participants obtained a qualitative qualification and 71% had a low qualification. None achieved or good results. The variables studied did not show a significant association with the final result of the knowledge test. 55% of participants showed a positive disposition and the degree of indifference ranged around 20%. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge on clinical nutrition of residents of internal medicine and general surgery of the south west and coffee axis of Colombia were poor. The attitudes towards the nutritional issues do not agree with the results in the knowledge test and the degree of indifference towards them was very high. It is of utmost importance to rethink the curriculum of the programs of the residents of these medical specialties in clinical nutrition issues in order to achieve a comprehensive and timely care for hospitalized patients.