Dietetics Career Research Articles

Weight stigma of nutrition and dietetics students towards people with obesity

Weight bias is present in different scenarios, one of them is the area of health on the part of its professionals. For this reason, the aim of this descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study was to determine whether weight bias towards people with obesity was observed among students of the Nutrition and Dietetics career of the Catholic University of Temuco and to provide corrective measures to prevent the bias. The participants of this study were 94 nutrition and dietetics undergraduate students from different years of study. Students answered the GAMS 27-Obesity. According to the results obtained in this study, future nutritionists have a predisposition to weight bias towards people with obesity, this can have a negative impact on the care of these patients. Implementing corrective measures, during professional training, can prevent weight bias towards people with obesity by future professionals, thus improving their quality of care and positively impacting the health of these people.

Career Motivations and Aspirations of Dietetic Students: Applying the Social Cognitive Career Theory

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the career motivations and aspirations of dietetic students using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). The objectives were to identify and quantify 1) the factors that motivate current students to choose dietetics as a career, 2) the future career aspirations of dietetic students, and 3) the way in which dietetic students make career decisions. Methods: This descriptive study utilized the validated Career Aspirations and Motivations of Dietetics Students (CAMDS) survey. Program directors of the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)-accredited programs shared the CAMDS survey with their students electronically. A resulting convenience sample of n=328 students were enrolled in a didactic program in dietetics, dietetic internship, coordinated program in dietetics, or future education model graduate program. Data was captured regarding demographics, path towards a career in dietetics, motivations and influences to practice as a dietetics professional, and future career aspirations. Descriptive statistics were used to convey study findings. Data were both nominal and ordinal. Results: The majority of participants were female, white, and born after 1980. Motivating factors to pursue dietetics included cooking with family during childhood; a personal interest in nutrition; the influence of a parent or legal guardian; social media; and the opportunity to help others. The preferred employment sectors were clinical dietetics, community dietetics, and private practice. Conclusions: Attention to the career motivations and aspirations of dietetic students is requisite to supporting the growing demand for credentialed dietetics practitioners. The vast majority of current dietetic students are classified as millennials or generation Z; these students have career motivations and aspirations that are distinct from previous generations of dietetic students.

The Nature of Competition in Dietetics Education: A Narrative Review.

The impact on student development associated with being part of a competitive program is an emerging finding in dietetics research. As such, a narrative review of relevant literature was conducted pertaining to competition in post-secondary programs and the educational experience of students with respect to developing a career in dietetics. The review was guided by 2 questions: How is competition experienced by students? What strategies can reduce competition among dietetics students within the educational experience? A refined literature screening process justified including 32 articles in the review. The overall review findings suggested that, across dietetics programs, the outcomes of competition negatively impacted students' personal identity, motivation in the learning process, and involvement behaviours, including collaboration among students, participation in academic opportunities, and student relationships with faculty. The implementation of strategies conducive to addressing the effects of excessive competition and building a supportive academic environment, for example increasing collegiality and engaging students in intrinsic learning, are important for continued growth of the dietetics profession. Educators can reflect on the complex nature of competition and how the effects of excessive competition may be in opposition with the competencies that students are expected to develop as professionals.

University Students’ Reservations: About Dietetics as a Career Choice

Dietetics students' reservations about their career choice were investigated. In several dietetics programs in various provinces, an in-class or online survey was administered to students in the early or late stages of their education (n=397). Data were coded and analyzed, using descriptive statistics. Chi-square testing for independence was used to establish significant relationships. Forty-three percent (n=149) of those responding to the research question (n=344) indicated they had reservations about a dietetics career, primarily because of internship, salary, and employment concerns. Students enrolled in a coordinated internship/degree program experienced no reservations about internship. Students experienced fewer career reservations when they had made their career decision before grade 12, were influenced by a dietitian, or were in the later stages of their education. Findings have implications for dietetics recruitment, retention, research, and education. An understanding of sources of reservations about career choice will allow policy-makers, researchers, and educators to address issues to ensure that potential professionals are well informed about career components and that educational programs meet students' needs.

The Who, What, When, and How: Of Choosing a Dietetics Career

We describe factors influencing the career choices of students enrolled in Canadian dietetics programs. A survey was administered, in class or online, to core first- and fourth-year classes in seven dietetics programs in various provinces (n=397). Data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics. Chi-square testing for independence established significant relationships. Students ranked personal satisfaction, job security, and a professional career as important general career outcomes. These factors were also perceived to be attainable through a dietetics career. The majority of students chose dietetics while they were enrolled in a post-secondary degree program (44%), were primarily influenced by family members (54%), and based their choice on information acquired through the media (50%). Motivations for choosing dietetics included an interest in nutrition (91%) and health (90%), and a desire to help others (82%). Younger students placed more importance on economic rewards and having a position of authority than did older students. Older students identified personal satisfaction as more important in career selection than did younger students. Female respondents placed higher value on job flexibility than did their male counterparts. Career choice is based on a variety of internal and external factors. Opportunities exist for strategic recruitment efforts by educators and the profession.

New Dietetic Practitioners’ Perspectives: On Their Education and Training

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. Participants (n=12) had less than three years of work experience and included alumni from three Canadian universities representing different models of entry to practice. Three one-on-one interviews were conducted with each participant. The key influencing factor in participants' decision to pursue dietetics was the perceived congruence between dietetics and other aspects of their lives, including early interests and experiences (sports, food and cooking, an eating disorder), career aspirations (science, health care), and social networks (the desire to be a professional). A pivotal experience during high school or while enrolled in or after graduation from another program prompted participants' awareness of and subsequent decision to pursue a career in dietetics. Supportive relationships were vital to participants' professional socialization. Recruitment materials and education opportunities should help aspiring dietitians develop a clear idea of what being a dietitian means. Dietetic educators must attend to the informational and relational aspects involved in shaping future practitioners' dietitian identities.

Is an Overseas Dietetics Career Opportunity for You?

This article is reprinted from the September 2009 issue of the Journal (2009;109:1509-1512).

Is an Overseas Dietetics Career Opportunity for You?

Is an Overseas Dietetics Career Opportunity for You?

Nutritional care in indian hospitals: present and future role of dietitians

In India, the terms dietetics and dietitian have been domesticated since the career in dietetics began with the introduction of graduate programs in home sciences. To add to its greater degree of domesticity was the fact that the study of home science was purely a female prerogative. The baccalaureate degree in home science was encouraged because the family felt that the girl was educated without her domesticity being adversely affected, especially in the marriage market. The enterprising among the graduates of home science decided to convert their academic qualification into a specialization in the allied-health specialist category, and thus the profession of dietitian was generated. Their ambit of interaction, however, was limited to the hospital kitchens, thus retaining the domestic character of the dietitian, and this identification is best described by the following phrases: rotund; an official food taster; glorified cook; a sedentary clerk, calculating and maintaining calories and the weight of the food or nutrient; and maintaining and formulating unappetizing recipes for the helpless, hapless patient. This myth needed to be exploded. Therefore, to convert nutrition from sheer art of feeding the body at all stages of life to the science that feeds the body in health and disease, in the 1980s, a branch of study was segregated and specifically designated as “Nutrition and Dietetics.” But the progression was arrested because the centers offering this training were the home science colleges that were exclusively for women, and they had no access to hospitals or medical universities to back their teaching and learning programs. Although nursing and nutrition are derived from the same root word nutricus, nutrition has not received the exalted status that nursing has in the medical scenario. Despite the added glamour and dietitians calling themselves clinical nutritionists, the work environment did not undergo any change whatsoever. The nutrition world was changing at a pace much faster than the situation at the home front, and the access to the academic knowledge was limited. This curtailed the advancement of the dietitian in becoming a true and strong link between the community and the clinical and commercial aspects of nutrition. It had been realized that the clinical nutritionist is a vital link between the physician and the patient. The clinical nutritionists or dietitians had understood that they were required to maintain data relevant to the anergic metabolic profile, play a very scientifically dynamic role at the bedside of the patient, and be an active member of the team treating the patient. However, the lack of exposure to the hospital-based patient environment inspired no confidence in effecting the change. For the first time in India, a private medical university recognized the lacuna and decided to correct it. It acknowledged the need for a clinical nutritionist to be identified as a trained professional in the area of nutrition, who focuses on diet therapy, incorporating normal and modified prescriptions, planning, and instructing, while encouraging individualized dietary compliance in both health and disease. A job specification was delineated on the premise that the knowledge of clinical nutrition must be used to:

A Comparison of Dietetics Career Choice Motivators and Prevalence of Eating Disorders in a College Female Population

While the prevalence of eating disorders in college-aged females has been the subject of much research, no investigations have examined the relationship of career choice issues to eating disorders. Much anecdotal evidence suggests that dietetics majors have a substantially higher incidence of both eating disorders and disordered eating, and that their abnormal relationship with food may contribute to their career choice. The purposes of this study were to (1) examine the relationship between dietetics career choice motivators and prevalence of eating disorders in a college female population and (2) compare the prevalence rates of sub-clinical and clinical eating disorders in a college female population between dietetics and non-dietetics students. Both dietetics and non-dietetics students completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and a DSM-IV criteria checklist; dietetics majors also completed a career choice motivator questionnaire. EAT-26 scores and DSM-IV checklist answers were combined to classify respondents into four groups: “clinically disordered”, “high sub-clinically disordered”, “low sub-clinically disordered”, and “non-disordered”. Frequencies of responses to the career choice motivator questionnaire were determined, and responses were classified as disordered or non-disordered. Second most frequently listed career motivator category was past or present eating disorder. Significantly higher prevalence of eating disorders was found in students who listed “disordered” motivators. Comparison of four groups (entry-level dietetics, advanced dietetics, entry-level non-dietetics, advanced non-dietetics) found that mean EAT-26 score was significantly higher for entry-level dietetics majors than for the other three groups. These results support anecdotal evidence of the higher prevalence of eating disorders in some subsets of dietetics majors, and suggest the need for additional research to elucidate reasons for the lower prevalence in advanced level dietetics students. The possibility of conflict between personal eating behaviors and dietetics practice is an issue for further professional debate.

Helen E.Walsh—1906-1997

Helen Walsh, MA, RD, 1948-1949 president of The American Dietetic Association (ADA) passed away on June 29, 1997. She had retired in 1971 as chief of the Bureau of Nutrition of the California Department of Health Services after an outstanding career in dietetics and public health nutrition.

Promoting Diversity Through a Nutrition and Dietetics Career Expo

LEARNING OUTCOME: To introduce and promote careers in nutrition and dietetics to urban high school and returning students. Despite an enrollment that is over seventy percent minority in the Philadelphia public schools, the number of minority students in dietetic programs in area colleges and universities has declined. Lack of understanding about the career, fears of job insecurity, and lack of financial resources were among the key problems identified as roadblocks to a more diverse enrollment in nutrition and dietetic programs. To combat this trend, a program entitled “Nutrition and Dietetics Career Expo” was presented at a local community college with support from the district dietetic association and the local health department. Students from public and parochial schools in the area and community job training programs were invited to attend a program that included teams of registered dietitians, dietetic technicians registered, and certified dietary managers giving short up-beat presentations about their different positions and their own career paths. Much emphasis was placed on the career ladder concept and designing the program to showcase a pool of dietetic professionals which reflected cultural, racial and gender diversification. A Marketplace that included representatives from areas colleges, major employers, information on scholarships and financial support, and refreshments capped the event. Over 150 students and 35 food and nutrition professionals participated in the program.

Influences on the Selection of Dietetics as a Career

Objective To gather information on the factors that influence students’ decisions to choose dietetics as a career. Design Self-administered questionnaires regarding the point at which career decisions were made were completed by 1,695 students in Plan IV/V dietetics programs throughout the United States. Subjects All Plan IV/V dietetics programs that reported greater than five graduates in the academic year 1989 to 1990 were selected from the 1990-1991 Directory of Dietetic Programs for the sample population. Of the 156 schools that were mailed questionnaires, responses were received from 84 schools (54%). Almost 90% of the students were women, 10.6% were men. Statistical analyses Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. A χ 2 analysis was used to examine the relationship between point of decision and factors that influenced career choice, including people who influence career choice. Results The majority of students (55%) questioned reported making their career decision in college. Students rated interest in nutrition (96.3%) and job enjoyment (93.8%) as factors that were important in their decision to pursue a career in dietetics. College catalogs were rated by 48.3% of the students as being either useful or very useful in helping them make their career selection. With respect to gender differences, women rated a diverse work environment as being very important to their career decision more frequently than men (χ 2=15.44, P<.01). Women were more likely than men to rate part-time work opportunities as being very important (χ 2=26.75, P<.001); and selected working with people as being very important to their career decision (χ 2=17.59, P<.01). Conclusions Findings identified that recruitment strategies need to be audience specific. Because career decision making appears to occur during one of three time frames (high school, college, or work experience), recruitment activities should be developed to specifically target students at these times. One way to increase the exposure of students to the profession of dietetics is for registered dietitians to give guest lectures in introductory college courses and high school upper-class courses in health, home economics, and biology. The use of university/college catalogs as effective marketing tools should also not be underestimated. Data suggest that gender differences exist in factors that influence persons to choose dietetics as a career. To increase the number of men who pursue careers in dietetics, future research should be designed to more fully explore gender differences, so that strategies to recruit more men into the profession can be developed. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997: 97;254–257.

How to Achieve Competitive Advantage in a Brave New World

The rapid changes in today's health care field signal that it is time to take charge of your dietetics career by developing new skills and taking advantage of new opportunities. Use these strategies to build the foundation for a successful career.

Factors affecting a student’s choice of dietetics as a profession

In order to design more effective recruitment strategies, 419 junior students in 38 coordinated dietetics programs completed self-administered questionnaires to identify factors that attracted them to the profession. The majority (43.9%) first became interested in a dietetics career while in college; 24.9% became interested before or during secondary school; and 17.7% were making a career change. Factors that most frequently led to a career in dietetics were a course in nutrition (32.9%), a friend or relative other than parent (31.0%), and a dietitian (30.3%). Students rated the opportunity to help others (95.2%) and the relationship of nutrition to health (94.0%) as characteristics of the profession that had a highly positive influence on their decision. Interests in health, disease, and health care (70.5%); teaching and health promotion (42.7%); sports and fitness (40.7%); counseling and behavior change (35.6%); and food and cooking (35.4%) were most frequently cited as influencing the choice of a dietetics career. Students were most interested in practicing dietetics as a consultant or in private practice (37.5%) or as a clinical dietitian (34.8%). New and innovative recruitment strategies should target high school and college students and pay special attention to second-career students. Interests such as health, disease, and health care and health promotion and characteristics of the profession such as the opportunity to help others attracted present dietetics students and should be emphasized in recruiting. The best marketing tools may be the practicing dietitian and a course in nutrition.