ABSTRACT
This study aimed to compare perception of job importance, job performance, and job difficulty between clinical dietitians working at small and medium hospitals in Busan. The survey was conducted from July 15 to August 31, 2014, and data were analyzed using the SPSS program. The mean scores for perception of job importance, job performance, and job difficulty of clinical dietitian's task elements were 3.88, 2.87, and 3.18 out of 5.0, respectively. Perception of job importance had a positive relationship with job performance. However, job performance showed a negative relationship with job difficulty. There were strong positive relationships among nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, nutrition monitoring & evaluation, nutrition research in perception of job importance (P<0.05, P<0.01). Nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, and nutrition research showed positive relationships with job performance (P<0.05, P<0.01). There was also a positive relationship among clinical dietitian's task with job difficulty (P<0.05, P<0.01). These results suggest that it would be effective to adopt training programs for appropriate nutrition service and to provide continuous education programs for professional development.