The value of experiential education in dietetics

A survey was sent to 2000 Registered Dietitians (RD) who passed the national registration exam between 1996 and 1999. RDs were asked to self-report their perceived value of professional preparation attained from four areas of dietetic education: didactic program, supervised practice, work experience, and continuing education. Five questions in the survey asked RDs to estimate the contribution of these four areas, in percentage, to their ability, confidence, knowledge, skills and competence as an RD. Analysis of the data included descriptive statistics and two-way correlation. The return rate for the survey was 45.0%. The dietetic internship consistently received the highest mean response for all five aspects of professional development. Knowledge (31.3%) was the highest contribution from the didactic program. The internship contributed the most to skill development (44.8%). Confidence (32.5%) was the greatest contribution from work experience, and knowledge (8.6%) from continuing education. When asked to indicate their first area of practice, 63.5% of the participants reported working in a clinical position, 19.2% reported community/public health, 13.8% reported other, 12.6% reported food service/management and 3.5% reported entrepreneurial/business. Participants' responses indicate that the internship is a critical aspect of dietetics education in order to develop ability, confidence, knowledge, skills, and competence to practice as an RD. However, each component of dietetic education contributed a unique aspect of professional development that is necessary in the preparation of an entry-level dietitian.