Practice learning a prelude to work: studies by DIETS2 (original) (raw)
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Exploring the quality of European dietetic practice placements
Nutrition & Food Science, 2015
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New dietetic practitioners' perspectives: On their education and training
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 2012
To elucidate the complex phenomenon of dietitian professional socialization, we examined factors that influence people's decisions to pursue a career in dietetics and how education and training processes influence the professional socialization of dietitians.
Nutrition & Dietetics, 2005
Objective: To qualitatively explore the attitudes, expectations and career plans of aspiring dietetic students.Design: Qualitative study involving open‐ended semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews.Subjects: Sixty‐three student applicants to the Griffith University Master of Nutrition and Dietetics Program over the 2002–2003 period.Main outcome measures: Attitudinal data about the motivations, competency expectations and career plans of Nutrition and Dietetic program applicants.Analysis: Qualitative content analysis.Results: Student applicants had a mix of health science and exercise science undergraduate training backgrounds, were in their early to mid‐20s and were recent graduates. The most common motivations for becoming a dietitian was a long‐term primary interest in nutrition, health and helping people inspired by previous experience with other dietitians, family or personal illnesses and significant others such as mothers and teachers. Approximately 30% of applicants rep...
Pilot study of an innovative model for clinical education in dietetics
Nutrition & Dietetics, 2009
Aim: To pilot and evaluate a new model of clinical dietetics education to address the sustainability of dietetic placements in the clinical setting. Methods: Final-year dietetics students (n = 14) completed all nine weeks of clinical placement in the pilot program at two large tertiary referral and teaching health services in metropolitan Melbourne. Staff and students completed surveys about their experience within a week of completing placement. Data collected included paid and unpaid staff working hours, hours in clinical and teaching activity, hours of student attendance and student clinical work hours. Data for the last month of the placement programs in the preceding three years were used for comparison with the pilot program. Results: Combined data for the two providers showed that the model reduced the amount of supervision hours per student hour on placement by 16% while maintaining quality indicators during the pilot compared with previous years. Students in the pilot program were more positive about their experience compared with students in the existing program. The overall trend of responses in the staff surveys was positive for the pilot program, but the trend was not as marked as that of student responses. Conclusion: The new model of clinical dietetics education was successfully piloted and demonstrated the potential to increase student training capacity without a negative impact on student achievement or major resource demands. Refinements to the model and opportunities to enhance integration into the dietetics degree program were identified during the project. The learning needs of non-English-speaking background students require further scrutiny.
Nutrition & Dietetics, 2010
Aim: To evaluate the attributes of clinical dietetics student placement exposure to patient case-mix and supervision, types of services delivered and to estimate and compare costs and benefits of student activity and supervision while on placement. Methods: Descriptive study of three annual cohorts of student dietitians (n = 59) collecting data prospectively over a continuous 10-week clinical placement period. Data focused on student case-mix exposures and student and supervisor verified time utilisation. Descriptive analysis of data relating to student case-mix exposure, student service delivery and direct supervisory practices was performed to explore the attributes of student placement experiences. Student and supervisor time utilisation data were used to model estimates of dollar costs and benefits based on occasion of service as a measure of clinical productivity. Results: Data collected indicate that student service delivery activity increases and direct supervision decreases significantly as time on placement increases. The minimum occasion of service exposure required to achieve supervisor assessment of entry-level competency was 47 occasion of service (mean 165.8 occasion of service) and the maximum 306 occasion of service. Over one-third of all occasion of service provided by students was not directly supervised. Cost-benefit estimates indicate that a student needs to be over 80% as time efficient throughout the placement as a new graduate to offset the costs of direct student supervision. Conclusion: These data highlight the variability of student clinical placement experiences and exposure to learning opportunities and support evidence-based dialogue about resource exchange to support student placements.
On Beginning to Become Dietitians
Critical Dietetics, 2014
This paper explores beginning dietetic practitioners’ perspectives on the process of becoming dietetics professionals through the use of vignettes to illuminate the complex process of professional socialization. Embedded in these vignettes are three themes related to the socialization process that occurs in the early years of dietetic practice: congruence, resilience, and relationships. Our findings indicate that new dietitians struggle to develop their dietitian identity. They feel unprepared for the relational and practice realities of the workplace and find the transition from dietetic intern to dietitian challenging. They seek many ways to cope including seeking support from others and planning for the future but some consider leaving the profession. It is important to understand the professional socialization and identity formation processes that occur during the early years of practice to ensure that dietitians feel prepared and supported as they begin their careers.
Exploring assessment for learning during dietetic practice placements
Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 2010
Practice placement, which contributes to the development of professional skills and competencies, is an important component of dietetic pre-registration education in the UK. The assessment of practice placement impacts on students' experience and progression; however, currently, limited evidence-based information about assessment methods and practice in dietetic placements exists. The present study aimed to investigate the assessment methods and practices utilised when providing pre-registration dietetic practice placements.
Nutrition & dietetics: the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 2018
The present study aimed to systematically map and summarise existing research regarding dietetics workforce preparation and preparedness that has been conducted in Australia. The secondary aim was to then identify gaps in the literature to inform future priority areas in Australian dietetics education research. The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, Informit and PsycINFO were systematically searched from inception until July 2017 using key search terms to identify eligible studies. Extracted data were independently reviewed, and study quality was appraised by multiple researchers. Results were categorised by setting and primary focus/foci and then narratively summarised. Sixty-eight studies were included from 3779 records identified. Dietetics education research in Australia has spanned almost 30 years with more than half of studies (51%; 35/68) published in the last five years. The greatest proportion of research was conducted in the university setting (43%; 29/68), with stud...
Dietetics students’ construction of competence through assessment and placement experiences
Nutrition & Dietetics
Aim: Competency standards are widely adopted as a framework to describe standards of performance required inthe workplace. Little is known, however, about how students construct competence. This qualitative study aimed toexplore how dietetics students ready to graduate construct the concept of competence and the role of assessment indeveloping professional competence.Methods: A qualitative description was used to gather data from a convenience sample of students ready to graduate from universities with accredited dietetics programs across Australia (10 out of 15 at the time of the study).A total of 11 focus groups were conducted to explore perspectives of competence and experiences of 'competencybased' assessment. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using a thematic analysis approach.Results: A total of 81 (n = 81) participants across 10 universities representing 22% of total students participated inthe focus groups. Themes revealed that: (i) there is no shared understanding of competence; (ii) current work placement experiences may not reflect current standards or workforce needs; (iii) assessment approaches may not fullysupport the development of competence; and (iv) the competent performance of supervising dietitians/clinical educators in the workplace influences the construction of competence.Conclusions: There is a need to work towards a shared understanding of dietetic entry-level competence in the profession. 'Work-based' learning experiences may need to be modified to ensure students meet current competencystandards. Practitioners involved in student supervisionneed to acknowledge the influential role they have inthe development of the future workforce