Inherent requirements for dietetics programs

Dietetics is a profession governed by codes, guidelines and policies where practitioners are both accountable and responsible for ensuring professional behaviour in all contexts.  

Student demonstrates knowledge of and engages in ethical behaviour in practice.  

• Compliance with the codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people they engage with. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk.

Adjustments must not compromise codes, guidelines and policies or result in unethical behaviour. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Complying with academic and professional misconduct policies 
• Demonstrating appropriate behaviour with confidential information in classroom and professional practice placement settings. 

Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in this role. 

Students need to demonstrate behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and professional practice placement environment, which may at times be challenging and unpredictable. 

• Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Dietetics students will be exposed to health care and disability contexts in which they will encounter human suffering, and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage these events objectively and professionally. 

Adjustments must support stable, effective and professional behaviour in both academic and any practicum placement setting, which includes hospitals. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser.  

• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback. 

• Coping with own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in any practicum placement setting. 

Dietetics is a profession mandated by professional standards to enable the safe delivery of care. 

Students must demonstrate knowledge and compliance with Australian law and professional requirements and standards, which outline a dietitian’s scope of practice. 

• Knowledge, understanding and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and standards are necessary pre-requisites to professional practice placement, to reduce the risk of harm to self and others. 

• Compliance with the Australian law and professional requirements and standards ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice. 

Adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with Student Adviser. 

• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback. 

• Coping with and effectively managing own emotions and behaviour when dealing with individuals in the academic setting and, if applicable, in course-related placements. 

• Complying with the requirements for student accreditation with Dietitians Australia. 

• Complying with the policies of any practicum placement facilities e.g., uniform requirements. 

Effective and efficient verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide safe delivery of care. 

• Sensitivity to individual and/or cultural differences 

• Ability to understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner 

• Ability to provide clear instructions in the context of the situation 

• Timely clear feedback and reporting. 

• Communicating in a way that displays respect and empathy to others to develop trusting relationships. 

• Communication may be restricted to verbal because of physical limitations of the individual (e.g., injury, disease or congenital conditions). 

• Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for individual safety or treatment. 

• Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to individual safety, treatment and management. 

Adjustments must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues to ensure safety and appropriate care. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Participating in tutorial, simulation and clinical discussions including on professional practicum placements. 

• Establishing rapport with clients during dietetics management and responding appropriately to requests from clients, supervisors and other health professionals in any professional practicum placement. 

• Giving clear and appropriate instructions to clients, carers or team members.  

• Ability to work equitably, communicate constructively within a variety of team settings including peer teams and interprofessional teams. 

Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental for effective dietetic practice and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic and non-judgemental. 

• Capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues, both verbal and non-verbal. 

• Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours. 

• Sensitivity to individual and/or cultural differences. 

• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic, therapeutic and professional relationships. 

• Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of personal space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures promotes respect in academic and professional relationships. 

• Being sensitive to individual and/or cultural differences displays respect and empathy to others develops trusting relationships. 

• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of client symptoms and reactions to facilitate the assessment and treatment of clients. 

Adjustments must enable the recognition, initiation of or appropriate response or/as well as initiation of effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the academic environment. 

• Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the professional practice placement setting. 

Effective written communication, in English, is a fundamental dietetic responsibility with professional and legal ramifications. 

Student demonstrates the capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances. 

• Construction of written text-based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards are necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice. 

• Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and client notes which meet legal requirements, is vital to provide consistent and safe client care 

Adjustments must meet necessary standards of clarity, accuracy and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and professional practice placement environments. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Constructing an assignment to academic standards. 

• Constructing client notes, reports and information sheets in a timely manner that meet legal and professional standards. 

Consistent knowledge and effective cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and effective dietetic management. 

• Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information. 

• Ability to process information relevant to practice. 

• Ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice in a timely manner. 

• Safe and effective delivery of dietetic management is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately. 

Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment item and practicum placement opportunities.  

• Appropriately applying knowledge of theory, research evidence, policies and procedures in the practicum placement settings.  

Competent literacy skills are essential to provide safe and effective dietetic advice and management. 

• Ability to acquire information and accurately convey appropriate, effective messages. 

• Ability to read and comprehend a range of literature and information. 

• Capacity to understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner. 

• The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, treatment and delivery of care. 

• The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective delivery of care. 

Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Conveying spoken instructions to a client or patient accurately and effectively in a professional practice placement setting. 

• Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions. 

• Producing accurate, concise and clear dietetic documentation within an allocated timeframe which meets legal and ethical requirements. 

Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential to provide safe and effective dietetics management. 

Student demonstrates the ability to interpret and correctly apply data, measurements and numerical criteria. 

• Competent application of numeracy skills is essential in dietetic practice to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of medical nutrition therapy. 

Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Recording accurate measurements in patient notes. 

• Calculating and recording appropriate nutritional requirements for the patient taking into consideration their metabolic and disease state.

Dietetics practice requires the ability to make and maintain strong relationships with a wide range of individuals, groups and communities.  

• The ability to establish and maintain rapport with clients, academic staff, supervisors and peers. 

•  The ability to engage in effective and empathetic counselling skills. 

•  Ability to engage and relate appropriately in individual and group clinical supervision and experiential learning groups e.g., on professional practicum placements. 

• Highly developed relational skills are a cornerstone of effective relationships that permit effective assessment and intervention 

Adjustments must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate an acceptable level of effective relational skills. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Rapidly building rapport with a client to engage them in an assessment while on placement. 

• Effectively using relational and interpersonal skills to manage relationships with all clients while on practicum placement.  

Dietetics practice requires self-awareness and a capacity for reflectivity to consider the effect of one's own issues, actions, values and behaviours on practice.  

•  The ability to accurately reflect on their professional performance. 

• The ability to accept feedback on their professional practice and respond constructively. 

• Participation in supervision and in peer assisted learning is a key teaching strategy employed in the Master of Dietetics Studies program which requires a well-developed understanding of oneself in order to appropriately engage in this learning strategy. 

•  Working with clients while on practicum placement and understanding and responding in a client-centred manner requires well developed understanding of oneself and the ability to effectively manage one's reactions to situations that may arise. 

Adjustments must not compromise the student's ability to demonstrate an acceptable minimum level of capacity in this area. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Identifying when a practice issue is outside one's scope or expertise or when one's practice may be negatively affected by personal experience and/or reactions. 

Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective dietetics management. 

Student demonstrates sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills. 

• Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, tasks and assessments to maintain consistent, accurate and safe care of self and to others. 

• Visual observations, examinations and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective dietetic practice. 

Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in professional practice placement settings. Any strategies to address the effects of the vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Ability to perform functional activities during assessment and treatment such as physical examinations for assessment of nutrition status or screening procedures, or anthropometric measurement such as waist circumference.  

• Ability to read and comprehend patient medical records for safe clinical assessment, documentation and management of patient on professional practice placement. 

Auditory ability is required to provide safe and effective dietetic management. 

Student demonstrates sufficient auditory function to undertake the required range of verbal communication skills. 

• Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage an individual’s health needs consistently and accurately. 

• Auditory assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective dietetics practice. 

Adjustments must address the need to perform the range of tasks involved in practice on any given professional practice placement. Any strategies to address the effects of the hearing impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment of safety. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Engaging appropriately to a client's responses during an assessment.

Dietetics practice requires both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time. 

• Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time. 

• The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately. 

• The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period. 

• Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective dietetic management. 

Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a required period. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Active participation in tutorials or workshops. 

• Working for 5 consecutive days (38 hours per week) in any practicum placement.