Association of Introductory and Professional Education Contents with Post-graduation Careers in Registered Dietitian and Dietitian Training Schools

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed at showing the contents of introductory education and education for enhancing the expertise in registered dietitian (RD) and dietitian (Dt) training schools. Methods: From August to September 2017, an anonymous and self-administered questionnaire regarding educational contents and postgraduate careers were sent to 144 schools offering RD and 123 schools for Dt courses (valid responses: 225, 84.3%). After aggregating whether introductory education and education for enhancing expertise were implemented in each course, the relationship between such education and postgraduate career was analyzed. Results: Introductory education was conducted in over 90% of both courses. The RD course showed a significantly higher percentage of introductory education using textbooks than the Dt course. The schools offering visits to institutions with RD in introductory education had a significantly higher ratio of graduates employed in jobs based on their qualifications and expertise than those which did not offer such visits. Regarding the content of education to improve specialization, the ratio of ＂professional development＂ and ＂professional ethics＂ was high at around 80% in both courses. There was no significant relationship between the implementation of education to enhance specialization and employment that made use of the specialization. Conclusion: The present study shows the current status of introductory education and education to enhance expertise in training schools. Less association was found between introductory education or education for enhancing expertise and postgraduate careers taking the advantages of nutritional expertise. Future study, such as follow-up surveys in graduated students are necessary to verify the present issues.