Perceived continuing education needs of RDs and DTRs

Area of Science:

• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Professional Development
• Continuing Education

Background:

• The American Dietetic Association (ADA) Council on Practice Continuing Education Committee identified a need to understand continuing education (CE) requirements for Registered Dietitians (RDs) and Dietetic Technicians Registered (DTRs).
• Understanding these needs is crucial for ADA and other program providers to develop relevant and effective programming for nutrition professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To ascertain the perceived continuing education needs of RDs and DTRs.
• To identify current and preferred CE activities, influencing factors, popular topics, and demographic characteristics.
• To inform ADA's CE programming and explore new delivery methods.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 5,000 RDs and DTRs.
• The survey collected data on CE activity preferences, selection factors, topic interests, and demographics.

Main Results:

• RDs and DTRs utilize diverse CE mechanisms and cover numerous topics.
• Locally available activities are the primary method for meeting CE needs.
• Workshops and lectures are the preferred CE formats.
• ADA and state/district associations are key, but not sole, programming providers.
• Practitioners select topics aligned with their specific practice areas.
• Advanced-level requests focused on traditional dietetics, while basic-level requests included new or non-nutrition-specific topics.

Conclusions:

• RDs and DTRs engage in a wide range of CE activities, with a preference for local workshops and lectures.
• CE topic selection is driven by practice area relevance, with distinct needs for advanced traditional and basic emerging topics.
• Findings will guide ADA's CE planning and innovation in educational delivery.