Methodology for developing competency standards for dietitians in Australia

Abstract

Competency standards document the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for competent performance. This study develops competency standards for dietitians in order to substantiate an approach to competency standard development. Focus groups explored the current and emerging purpose, role, and function of the profession, which were used to draft competency standards. Consensus was then sought using two rounds of a Delphi survey. Seven focus groups were conducted with 28 participants (15 employers/practitioners, 5 academics, 8 new graduates). Eighty-two of 110 invited experts participated in round one and 67 experts completed round two. Four major functions of dietitians were identified: being a professional, influencing the health of individuals, groups, communities, and populations through evidence-based nutrition practice, and working collaboratively in teams. Overall there was a high level of consensus on the standards: 93% achieved agreement by participants in round one and all revised standards achieved consensus on round 2. The methodology provides a framework for other professions wishing to embark on competency standard review or development.

Development of advanced practice competency standards for dietetics in Australia

“…The strength of this study lies in the rigour applied to the qualitative approaches, including a research team with an in‐depth appreciation of the concept of advanced practice, combined with the attempt to gain perspectives from outside the profession. The methodology drew on existing approaches used to develop Competency Standards . The qualitative sample was small; however, consistency of results between key work roles of advanced practice identified in this study and other work defining advanced practice for other professions provides credibility to the findings.…”

Dietetics students’ construction of competence through assessment and placement experiences

“…The research was informed by qualitative description whereby researchers sought to describe the concept of competence from the perspectives of students ready to graduate and interpret this description to assist in understanding approaches to assessment. This work was undertaken just after the release of the revised National Competency Standards (2015), which were a significant shift from previous standards, having moved from nine domains of competence with 166 performance indicators to four domains and 55 performance indicators . Ethics approval was obtained from the primary university ethics committee (Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee approval number CF/2288‐2015000923) and then all other participating researchers’ university human ethics committees.…”

“…While standards have been criticised for hindering the advancement of professional practice and not being able to fully capture the complexity of practice, they have been used to provide a template for the development of curricula and assessment to prepare health professionals for practice. In dietetics, the Australian National Competency Standards have recently been revised . Previous versions of the standards were criticised as driving a reductionist, or ‘tick box’, approach to competency development and assessment having a focus only on entry‐level practice rather than ongoing competence .…”

“…In dietetics, the Australian National Competency Standards have recently been revised. 8 Previous versions of the standards were criticised as driving a reductionist, or 'tick box', approach to competency development and assessment having a focus only on entry-level practice rather than ongoing competence. 9 The accompanying revised accreditation standards specify 800 hours of 'work-based' placement.…”

Creating the dietitians of the future

“…In outcome‐based education, the multi‐dimensional, dynamic, developmental and contextual nature of competence is central and, as such, describes the outcomes a profession hopes to achieve in the systems in which we operate . For dietitians, this includes culturally appropriate, safe, ethical and effective practice, improving nutritional health, using and generating new evidence and effectively working with others to achieve our end users’ goals . Arguably, the Nutrition Care Process Terminology framework provides a structure in which to focus on quality, safe and effective nutrition outcomes for individuals and communities, which has been found to be accepted by the profession .…”