ABSTRACT
How one becomes a dietitian varies among member countries in the ICDA; however, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree and a supervised practicum experience of at least 500 hours is recommended.2 As with all health professions, it is widely recognised that dietetic practice needs to be grounded in evidence. However, it has been acknowledged that many of the decisions about best practices in dietetic education are based on expert opinion rather than scientifi c evidence.3 Th e purpose of this chapter is to present the current research evidence related to the education of nutrition and dietetics students. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and studies from January 1990 to February 2012 related to evidence-based education were identifi ed using electronic databases (CINAHL [Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature], MEDLINE, Web of Science). Studies were excluded if they were reported in conference abstracts only or were presented as perspectives in practice or were an opinion piece rather than a research study. Reference lists of included studies were also searched for other potentially relevant studies. Th e review included 36 articles published between 1990 and 2013. Th e majority of studies were descriptive in nature and would be considered level III evidence (evidence from case, correlation, and comparative studies). Limitations included small sample sizes, single time points and voluntary participation. Regardless of these limitations, the studies provide some useful insights into best practices in dietetic education.
