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University and employer expectations of new dietetic graduates

Matters, H. 2004, University and employer expectations of new dietetic graduates, Focus on health professional education, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 43-49.

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Title University and employer expectations of new dietetic graduates
Author(s) Matters, H.
Journal name Focus on health professional education
Volume number 5
Issue number 3
Start page 43
End page 49
Publisher ANZAME
Place of publication Adelaide, S. Aust.
Publication date 2004-02
ISSN 1442-1100
Keyword(s) education
professional
trammg
competency
Summary Objectives:  The first objective of this study was to identify the knowledge, skills and attributes (KSAs) that employers seek in newly graduated dietitians. The second objective was to compare the KSAs that employers seek in newly graduated dietitians to the Deakin University Graduate Attributes and to the Dieticians Association of Australia (DAA) Competencies in order to determine if there is a mismatch.

Methods:   Views were gathered from a combination of group and individual in-depth, semistructured interviews with 19 employers from a range of employment settings and sorted into an existing framework using the DAA Competencies and the Deakin University Graduate Attributes. Data from taped interviews were transcribed and sorted into a table of generic skills and a KSAs matrix.

Results: Employers sought graduates who had practical knowledge of dietetics and the workplace, Key skills sought included communication, interpersonal, work management and information technology skills. Key attributes sought were the ability to be a team player, to demonstrate some insight into one's own limitations, to demonstrate an appropriate level of initiative, and to be flexible and adaptable. There was a large overlap between the KSAs identified by employers as being important and those that have been identified by the DAA and Deakin University. However, there were some areas of mismatch. The University and employers valued information technological skills, whereas the DAA did not state these as a competency. The University and the industry employers were concerned about the global perspective, but the DAA and the clinical employers were not.

Conclusions: The results of this study show a large overlap between the KSAs valued by the profession, the University and the employers.
Language eng
Field of Research 119999 Medical and Health Sciences not elsewhere classified
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2008, ANZAHPE (formerly ANZAME)
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30002454

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
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