A structured approach to clinical education in a dietetic curriculum

The successful integration of clinical and didactic elements to achieve a well coordinated clinical education program is a complex, ongoing task in undergraduate dietetics education, involving both educational and managerial considerations. One effort to achieve improvements in these two areas was the development of a structured learning experience recently field tested with undergraduate dietetics students and clinical dietitians during clinical rotations. The structured experience defined roles, responsibilities, and activities for students, clinical dietitians, and course instructors and included scheduled review meetings attended by all participants. It was implemented with nine students during pediatric rotations. At the end of the course, students completed a standardized course evaluation form to assess course content, educational strategies, and effectiveness. They also rated the structured rotation, unstructured rotations, and their "ideal" rotation on 16 instructional factors. Clinical dietitians were interviewed by the course coordinator to elicit reactions and commitment to future participation. When it was compared with the traditional, non-structured approach utilized in surgery, gastroenterology, obesity/diabetes, and cardiovascular disease rotations, the structured learning experience received superior evaluations by participating students and dietitians. Correlations between ratings of structured, non-structured, and "ideal" approaches indicated directions for further educational and managerial improvements.