Time for Change: Insight from the Learning Sciences to Inform Dietitian Education and Credentialing

Abstract

The current practice and policies utilized to credential registered dietitians nutritionists, referred to in this article as dietitians, for entry-into practice must be overhauled utilizing the evidence grounded in the learning sciences. The interdisciplinary field of the learning sciences provide evidence for effective educational practice and alternative assessment methods to reform dietetic education (Sawyer, 2006, p. xi). As a teacher in a dietetic education program and a graduate of a doctoral program in Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning I will share my recommendations for dietetic education and credentialing of practitioners. In this article I will argue that the history of education in the United States has influenced the current education and credentialing process for dietitians. I will discuss the implementation of competency based dietetic education and the impact of the dietitian credentialing examination on the field. Finally, I will offer evidence to support my recommendations to implement alternative methods for credentialing dietetic practitioners that are supported in the learning sciences research.