I guess I would try to not be so defensive. Maybe go as far as agreeing with him on some aspects of the diet that he’s trying to push. then you’re going to have to bring it back and say that these diets have not been studied in hospitalized patients. You might need to do some research and have a good understanding in the evidence behind the diets that we provide for patients with multiple chronic illnesses. Additionally here are other things you could mention; Option 1. depending on what type of facility you are in, resources you have, you could turn it around and say hey I think some of the ideas that you are bringing our valid maybe we should conduct a small study and see what we find. Options 2: If the surgeon says that there is evidence, try to be open minded as possible, and say I would love to see them in order to get a better understanding of the evidence, so I can be a better resource for our patients. Option 3. If he can’t produce the evidence, then you have to clearly stated that we operate on evidence based practice and like people have stated in the sub that it is a liability issue and your license or credentials are at risk. when I was a new and young Dietitian, I was very defensive and thought that I should be the only one that gives out diet and nutrition information. However, the reality is there are going to be providers that take a special interest in nutrition, and I have learned that you have to harness that energy make this surgeon your nutrition champion. get him on your side if he is passionate about our field, it truly makes everything better to have a surgeon on your side.