November 15, 2006 Message: Activities of the Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force

November 15, 2006 Message: Activities of the Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force

Date: November 15, 2006
To: ADA Members and Other Stakeholders
From: Colleen Matthys, RD, Chair, Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force
Subject: Activities of Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force
This is the first of a series of regular and periodic messages you will receive from the Phase 2 Future Practice and Education Task Force.  The Task Force is committed to keeping all stakeholders appraised of its activities and will be soliciting input in the future.

The Task Force met in Chicago on October 22 to 24, 2006 to begin addressing its charge from the House of Delegates (HOD). Members of the Task Force and their areas of practice are noted below:

  • Colleen Matthys (Washington): Research
  • Margaret Bogle (Arkansas): Research
  • Deborah Canter (Kansas): Education
  • Jeanne Freeland-Graves (Texas): Research, Education and Community Nutrition
  • Linda Lafferty (Illinois): Management
  • Alice Lenihan (North Carolina): Public Health and Community Nutrition
  • Julie O’Sullivan-Maillet (New Jersey): Clinical Nutrition and Education
  • Kathleen McClusky (New York): Management
  • Anne Raguso (Ohio): Education
  • Judith Rodriguez (Florida): Research, Education and Consultation/Business
  • Marilyn Laskowski-Sachnoff (New Jersey): Management, Education.

The charge to the Task Force is provided at the end of this message.

The Phase 1 Dietetics Education Task Force report and recommendations released in July 2006 have not been acted upon by the House of Delegates (HOD received the recommendations rather than approve them). Therefore, it is very important that educators and practitioners understand that those recommendations are not final and should not be implemented unless deemed appropriate by an educational institution. The current CADE Standards for Dietetics Education Programs have not changed nor have the CDR eligibility requirements for entry-level practice been changed.

The Phase 2 Future Practice and Education Task Force established by the House of Delegates is charged to continue discussions related to educational preparation for the profession of dietetics. Task Force members have agreed to focus their initial efforts on the visioning process recommended by the Phase 1 Dietetics Education Task Force. The Task Force identified stakeholder groups to assist in visioning the probable and preferable futures of Registered Dietitians. DPGs, affiliates, ADA organizational units, credentialed and non-credentialed practitioners, industry and government segments, alliances and other stakeholders will be included in future thinking exercises to forecast a probable vision (what will likely happen) and preferable vision (what we want to happen). This visioning exercise will begin on December 6, 2006 and will end January 26, 2007. Watch for more information regarding this electronic visioning exercise. The identification of future practice roles will focus first on the Registered Dietitian and try to delineate what is needed for entry-level practice, as well as, for experienced (specialty and advanced) level practice. This information will provide a basis for the review and identification of support level personnel roles, competencies and relevant education level to be addressed later.

The Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force is grateful to the Phase 1 Dietetics Education Task Force for providing a foundation for further deliberation on future practice and practice roles and the educational preparation needed.

If any stakeholder has any thoughts or ideas to share with the Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force, please send a message to its electronic mailbox (Phase2TaskForce@eatright.org).

HOD Charge to the Phase 2 Task Force
A core function of the House of Delegates is making recommendations for standards of education and on accreditation, approval and related issues to the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE).  In light of this function, the charge to the Phase 2 Task Force follows:
  1. Review the Dietetics Education Task Force Report (recommendations and supporting data).
  2. Solicit input from DPGs, educators, employers and practitioners to describe probable and preferred future practice roles (including community/public health nutrition and management) in light of current and future market needs, emerging changes in health care delivery, etc using the HOD Environmental Scanning results (available fall 2006).
  3. Identify the roles/functions of support practitioner needed to assist the professional of the future.
  4. Analyze the results of the Advanced-Level Dietetics Practice Audit in relation to data from the Entry-Level Dietetics Practice Audit to identify distinctions between the two practice levels.
  5. Identify the common body of knowledge and skill sets providing the foundation for quality practice at entry-level for both professionals and support practitioners by reviewing the CDR audit studies and the Conceptual Framework for the Profession of Dietetics.
  6. Once the common body of knowledge essential to functioning as an entry-level RD is delineated, identify the specialization areas for both professionals and support practitioners given the diversity of the profession.
  7. Identify broadly the skill sets needed for future practice, both for a general and specialty education to prepare and train individuals (professionals and support practitioners) for future practice.
  8. Using professional consensus together with validated data, link relevance and justification to degree requirements and supervised practice requirements for entry to the profession and quality practice.
  9. Recommend strategies and timelines for implementation.
  10. Conduct a visioning process during the Spring 2007 HOD Meeting. Provide written report and give a presentation to the HOD by fall 2007.