Enhanced Dietetics Education Through Collaboration: A Study to Identify Opportunities

Abstract

With the aim of enhancing dietetics education in Nova Scotia, key stakeholders were engaged in identifying current practice issues along with opportunities for collaboration to address them. A survey containing five open-ended questions was distributed by email to a purposive sample of 24 participants affiliated with three universities with dietetics programs. Participants fell into five categories: internship coordinators, dietetics educators, recent internship graduates, current interns, and prospective interns. The response rate was 58%. Data were thematically analyzed through a process of constant comparison. Primary themes emerged, which reflected survey participants' concerns about three current practice issues: province-wide standards, internship placement availability, and the overall educational experience. Additional comments suggested that overall dietetic educational experiences could be improved if relevant clinical experiences were offered and preceptor workloads were accommodated. The creation of province-wide standards for assessing interns' level of competency was perceived to offer multiple benefits, including decreased preceptor workloads. Participants believed that collaborative actions might increase internship placements and improve the overall dietetic internship experience for interns and preceptors.

Dietetics students’ experiences of dietetics workforce preparation and preparedness: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis

“…This confirms findings from surveys of dietetics graduates that placements and experiential learning activities greatly contributed to their professional development and preparedness (77,78) . It also echoes requests by dietetics students for more placements in non-traditional settings that are relevant to contemporary practice (79) . The view of some students in this review that work opportunities existed beyond the settings in which their placements occurred reflects findings of research commissioned by national dietetics associations.…”