Mentoring Can Be an Effective Professional Development Experience to Enhance or Expand Your Career

Abstract

As recently as the 1980s, education was not universally approached as a lifelong process except to maintain certification, but at present, dietetics practitioners are keenly aware that lifelong learning has evolved from simply being important to something that is essential to achieve professional success. 1 Duyff R. The value of lifelong learning: Key element in professional career development. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999; 99: 538-543 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (24) Google Scholar In fact, in 1980, Malcolm S. Knowles, a noted educator often referred to as the “father of adult learning,” predicted that lifelong learning would inevitably become the organizing principle of education, and a few decades later, the term lifelong learning is part of the everyday vernacular in education circles, with many university departments featuring the title lifelong learning and offering courses on this topic. 1 Duyff R. The value of lifelong learning: Key element in professional career development. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999; 99: 538-543 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (24) Google Scholar , 2 Collins J. Lifelong learning in the 21st century and beyond. Radiographics. 2009; 29: 613-622 Crossref PubMed Scopus (47) Google Scholar