High-Fidelity Patient Simulation Increases Dietetic Students' Self-Efficacy Prior to Clinical Supervised Practice: A Preliminary Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effect of high-fidelity patient simulation (HPS) on dietetics students' self-efficacy before supervised clinical practice. METHODS: This repeated-measures study was conducted during the 2012-2013 academic year. All students in a masters coordinated program cohort (n = 19) participated in an interprofessional HPS experience before clinical supervised practice. The students completed a 4-point self-efficacy scale in which 0 = not at all confident and 3 = fully confident, at 3 time points: before and after the simulation experience and 2 weeks after beginning clinical supervised practice. RESULTS: Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, median confidence level differed before and after the simulation (1.5; interquartile range [IQR] 1.2-1.8; and IQR 1.3-2.0, respectively; P = .03) as well as after the simulation vs during the clinical rotation (2.2; IQR 2.0-2.4; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study supports the use of HPS with dietetics students in a coordinated program. High-fidelity patient simulation increases dietetics students' self-efficacy before supervised clinical practice.

Use of a food frequency questionnaire to fulfill the research competency requirement for dietetics students.

This article describes a research project developed by the Nutrition Division at Georgia State University (GSU). The project involved students' development of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and satisfied the research competency requirements of the American Dietetic Association's accrediting body. Both Coordinated Program students and Dietetic Interns from a variety of research training backgrounds were trained as a single group on topics related to the research requirements and that would prepare them to develop and use a FFQ. Students completed a literature review on a nutrient or food group of interest and received training on human subject research, subject recruitment, and data analysis with statistical methods. They then developed, administered, and analyzed the results of a FFQ and compared it to a gold standard FFQ. GSU nutrition professors conducted pre- and post-session surveys to gauge whether students gained the research skills they need. Students' evaluation of the assignment strongly suggests that they felt more capable of calculating and interpreting results from survey data after completing the project. The present article provides a framework other nutrition educators can follow. Other allied health educators can consider designing similar research projects that: (a) are uniquely relevant to their professional competency requirements, (b) are feasible for students from a variety of research training backgrounds, and (c) allow students to practice using research tools and skills frequently used in their profession.