How is the client-dietitian relationship embedded in the professional education of dietitians? An analysis of curriculum documentation and program coordinators' perspectives in Australia

Abstract

Aim: How dietitians are trained to develop relationships with clients is not clearly articulated despite its importance being well-documented. This study aimed to describe how this relationship is expressed and addressed in curriculum documents of Australian dietetics education programs, and to explore program coordinators' perspectives of this description and how relationship development is actually taught. Methods: Data extracted from subject outlines included subject descriptions, learning outcomes, assessments, readings and the mode of delivery (eg, lectures). Guided by a pre-existing coding framework, deductive thematic analysis was utilised to explore qualitative themes from subject outline data. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 10 program coordinators and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Subject outlines for 122 subjects across all 21 accredited Australian programs were analysed. The over-arching theme was the wide “variability” in the ways that the client-dietitian relationship was expressed across subject outlines. Program coordinators perceived that findings from the analysis of subject outlines made sense, however, acknowledged limitations of analysing data from curriculum documents. The relationship appeared ambiguously defined amongst programs and was described as occurring mostly in communication, counselling and medical nutrition therapy subjects and through theoretical and practical learning. Conclusion: The client-dietitian relationship appears inconsistently embedded in the curriculum of Australian dietetics education programs despite widespread acceptance of its importance to practice. Further research is needed to investigate if training programs should embed more consistent language around therapeutic relationships, and how this might be achieved to reflect current competency standards. © 2021 Dietitians Australia

Keywords

Author Keywords

curriculum Qualitative research client-dietitian relationship dietetics education patient-centred care professional-patient relations

Index Keywords

learning adult female human male Humans Article Thematic analysis Vocational education curriculum language qualitative research Australia human experiment major clinical study outcome assessment documentation counseling dietitian Education, Professional Nutritionists theoretical study diet therapy dietetics education professional-patient relationship structured interview

Author Affiliations

School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Funding & Acknowledgements

Department of Education, Australian Governement

Funding text 1: Annaliese Nagy, Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane contributed to the study conceptualisation and design. Annaliese Nagy collected and analysed curriculum documentation, conducted all interviews and transcribed each audio‐recorded interview. Annaliese Nagy, Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane contributed to data analysis. Annaliese Nagy developed the manuscript for publication, and Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane critically reviewed the manuscript prior to submission. All authors are in agreement with the manuscript. The authors wish to declare the content of this paper has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. This research was conducted as part of a Doctorate of Philosophy, funded by the Research Training Program of the Australian Government Department of Education.; Funding text 2: Annaliese Nagy, Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane contributed to the study conceptualisation and design. Annaliese Nagy collected and analysed curriculum documentation, conducted all interviews and transcribed each audio-recorded interview. Annaliese Nagy, Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane contributed to data analysis. Annaliese Nagy developed the manuscript for publication, and Anne McMahon, Linda Tapsell and Frank Deane critically reviewed the manuscript prior to submission. All authors are in agreement with the manuscript. The authors wish to declare the content of this paper has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. This research was conducted as part of a Doctorate of Philosophy, funded by the Research Training Program of the Australian Government Department of Education.

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How is the client-dietitian relationship embedded in the professional education of dietitians? An analysis of curriculum documentation and program coordinators' perspectives in Australia

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