Practice Education Project:

Innovative approaches for

Dietetics

Rosanna Hudson

Policy Officer, Education

April 5th 2017

Dietetics is changing……

• Statement of fact

• Profession must adapt

• Education:

– Loss of bursaries / fee paying

– Student as consumer – broader experience

– Apprenticeships – loss of acute student

placements

– New providers in the market

Education Policy

Bursaries /

Student Loans

HEFCE Funding

Decisions

Quality

Assurance

Agency:

Dietetic

Benchmark

Statement

Quality

Assurance

Agency: External

Examiners

Calibration Project

Health Education England

• Strategic overview

• Workforce planning

• Primary Care

• Cancer services

• MSK

• Apprenticeships

• Advanced Practice

Brexit and the

HE Sector

Gender

imbalance in

dietetics

(work with

AfN)

Higher Education

and Research Bill

• Office for Students

• Quality Body: ?

QAA

Dietetics is changing……

Dietetic Practice

• NHS services moving from acute to community

• New models of care via STPs

• GP practices adopting MDT approach

• Greater dietetic roles in non healthcare sectors:

– Industry

– Public Health policy

– Freelance

– Social care (integrated care)

– Food industry

– Sports

– And many more!

Placements should

reflect ‘breadth and

diversity of the working

environment of entry-

level dietitians’

BDA Curriculum

Framework 2013

BDA Practice Education Project - Premise

• Future proofing the profession

– Reflect employment opportunities and sectors

– Raise the profile of dietetics within new sectors

– Encourage students to consider ‘hard to recruit to’ specialisms

– Encouraging the profession to support student training

• Changing mind-sets

– Recognition of transferable skills and experiences

– Demonstrate learning outcomes in a variety of ways

• Managing capacity

– NHS staffing pressures / Placement shortages

– Challenge sole use of traditional one to one models

– Raising profile of dietetics / inter-professional learning

environment & MDTs

BDA’s position – Five guiding principlesGuidance Document

1. Responsibility of ALL to support training

2. Collaboration between BDA, Higher Education

and dietetic sectors

3. Must be adequately resourced (staffing)

4. Responsibility of profession to innovate

5. Must prepare students for dietetic profession

of the future

Guidance conclusions

• To promote, develop, disseminate opportunities

in:

– Innovative teaching approaches

– Peer assisted learning

– Simulation

• Exploration of non-traditional dietetic sectors, eg:

– Public health

– Industry

– Third sector

– Dietetic specialism

– Social care ….etc.

How can it work in practice?

Non-acute placements

• Transferable skills (presentation, communication, media,

policy, team working, service user focus)

• Frees up time for clinical skills (acute)

• Broad experience of power / scope of dietetics

• Long-arm placements / short chunks of time

• Frees up NHS capacity

• Tri-party arrangement: University, NHS Trust & new

placement provider

Acute sector (specialist areas of practice)

– Significant proportion of placement time

– Clinical learning outcomes can be met

Dietitians……

Be Brave! It can be done……

I have the evidence to prove

the case……..

Urray House Care Home:

Robert Gordon University

• Trailblazing – first of its kind. Pilot ‘championed’ by NHS

Education for Scotland (NES)

• Hinged on strong partnership working between University,

Care Home

• Scoping exercise to gauge whether suitable environment /

opportunity plus halfway review by partnership team

• Timetabled one day a week

• Opposition: Changing ‘hearts and minds’

• Specific activities Undertaken

Diabetes UK: London

Metropolitan University

• Third Sector / Not for Profit: London Office

• 7 days of a 14 week Placement Three: one day

a week for first 7 weeks

• Pre-placement planning required by all

• interact with staff and clients (public and

healthcare workers)

• Evaluation +ve, logistics to be tweaked

East London Food Access

Project: Kings College

London

http://www.elfaweb.org.uk/

• Project began 2002 / first dietetic students 2012

• 2-3 students per rotation, 3 week public health placement (final year)

• Focuses on chronic food poverty and providing access for those on low

incomes to affordable fruit and vegetables: funded by Public Health

Hackney

• Activities: food co-operative stalls, budgeting and cooking classes, one

to one nutrition advice, delivery service to isolated seniors, collaborative

buying group

• Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of projects.

• Issue of flexibility and impact on student projects

Specialist Paediatric Placement:

University of Plymouth

• Bristol Children’s Hospital

• C Placement: five day week

for two weeks / B Placement:

five day week for six weeks

“The paediatric team in particular

really made me feel valued and

provided the right balance of

support to improve my confidence

but at the same time challenged

me, developing my dietetic practice.

Having such a range of experiences

in specialist areas allowed me to

gain a far greater appreciation of

how varied the role of a dietitian is

and really inspired me in my career

choice.”

• Focus on basic dietetic care process – meeting

learning outcomes

• Student placed within a specialist team within

department: Renal, Diabetes, Neurology etc

Specialist Mental Health Placement:

Leeds Beckett University

• Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS

Foundation Trust (TEWV)

• 3 x A placement / 4 x B Placement

Students

– A placements- 3 weeks within TEWV

– B placement- 6-7 weeks with TEWV

and 6-7 weeks in local acute &

community

• verbal, nonverbal, written and

pictorial communication skills.

Behaviour change skills.

Understanding service user’s

perspectives

‘Having an underlying

knowledge of mental

health conditions

allowed me to

understand the

challenges patients

face and the barriers

which would prevent

them from changing

their lifestyle. ‘

‘it provided me with a

unique set of skills

which I now have for

life.’

BDA Student Placements

Infographics

Interviews with Professional

Practice Board

Sue Perry

Steve Grayston +

Andy Burman (CEO)

City Centre

Shopping Task

Conferences

Creating patient

resources

Other BDA Practice

Education Work

Any Questions or concerns?

Rosanna Hudson, BDA Education

Policy Officer

Fiona Moor, Professional Lead for

Dietetics, Royal Derby Hospital

Chair of BDA Education Board