Issue 133 raising the profile of dietetics realise your potential

PAEDIATRIC SKILLS & LEARNING

RAISING THE PROFILE OF DIETETICS: REALISE YOUR POTENTIAL Priya Tew Freelance Dietitian and Specialist in Eating Disorders Priya runs Dietitian UK, a freelance dietetic service that specialises in social media and media work, consultancy for food companies, eating disorder support, IBS and Chronic Fatigue. She works with NHS services, The Priory Hospital group and private clinics as well as providing Skype support to clients nationwide.

Times are a-changing and we as a profession need to change with them, which is not one of our strengths. However, it needs to fast become one and, as dietitians, we need to realise our potential and our worth.

Dietitians are about more than just diets and yet our name and our reputation seems to be just that. Too many people have the stereotype of a stark white clinical environment where advice is given on restricting eating, on eating only healthy foods and stern finger wagging for eating the wrong things.

People are constantly surprised when I tell them that I rarely prescribe an actual diet and that no one diet fits all.

Part of the problem seems to come down to dietitians not actually realising their worth. This is possibly due to dietetics being a caring profession and the fact that we are not trained in marketing, PR and business skills - a side of things that may not come naturally to us. However, if we don’t shout about ourselves, then no one else will do it for us.

There are plenty of weekend or short-term nutrition courses which include advice and tips on marketing and people taking these courses seem to instantly become nutritionists who then shout about their services. With more and more people stating that they can help with nutrition advice, our message gets diluted.

SO WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL?

Dietetics training This teaches us how to be evidence based, but more than that, it teaches us how to read and interpret the research.

Knowing the difference between a small scale study on rats and a long-term RCT on humans makes the difference.

Appreciating the value of research and staying up to date is also key. Getting involved in doing research is also so valuable of course!

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www.NHDmag.com April 2018 - Issue 133

Clinical practice All dietitians, once qualified, already have a lot of clinical experience because of the education system in place. I still remember and value my clinical placements and my initial training years. Working on the wards as a newly qualified dietitian was a steep learning curve. Compare this to someone with a short-term nutrition course and there is a distinct difference. Dietitians have faceto-face clinical expertise from day one.

Patient-centered care Every dietitian I have met really does care. We have valuable listening skills and CBT skills that are adaptable to whatever patient is in front of us. Taking the time to listen, help the patient understand and to appreciate how they are feeling, is part of our role. It is not just diagnosis and diet sheets.

Interpreting the science into easy-tohandle advice The general public needs to know the evidence, but wants it in an accessible manner. As dietitians, this needs to be part of our role and whether this be in a clinical environment, on social media, or in written form, we have these skills.

Get involved in doing this and sharing it around, whether that is in a newsletter at your place of work, via a blog, social media, media work, or in person.

Working to a code of conduct There are so many unregulated professions out there. For example, when you have a kitchen fitted, you would look around and check the

“I think it’s crucial to get ourselves out there on social media and traditional media, share consistent evidence-based messages, support each other on social media, collaborate with other like-minded professionals and people in the media and to be entrepreneurs by embracing new technologies, learning about the business world and the media.” kitchen fitter’s qualifications and experience, see if they are recommended by others and under a trade body. We abide by the BDA and HCPC codes of conduct and this is a huge selling point.

This makes us trustworthy and safe. don't know about ople “Ther e is so much that pe what dietitians do.”

Denise Kennedy

Specialist areas of work Many of us work in specialist areas that are so niche that no one knows about them. We are largely a behind-the-scenes professional and need a PR company behind us! So how do we highlight the work that we do?

We need to shout about it. It may not come naturally as, generally, we are not trained in business skills and perhaps this should form part of our ongoing professional development.

As a Pilates studio owner, I go on many fitness courses and they all contain an element of marketing and business advice.

Taking up a business course, or a social media course doesn’t have to be expensive; I’ve taken up many free ones in fact. They can give you the confidence you need to start shouting about your skills, knowledge and professionalism. We need more courses on these topics available to our profession.

Social media, websites, other media, the local community, your workplace: these are all places in which to be active, where we can push the message

Maeve Hanan

about how awesome we are. It is largely unpaid work and it takes time to do, but personally, I do a lot of this as I am passionate about dietetics being seen in the right light. If you need advice on where to start, then reach out to those who already do it; we need to share and help each other out in order to move forward.

Dietetics needs a shake up, wake up and a rebrand. How do we want the public to see us? As professionals who hide away and are out of date, or as caring, evidence-based, vibrant, entrepreneurs who are on the cutting edge of nutrition? It is up to us individually and as a group to up our game and realise that we can do more than we think.

New technologies can be a huge learning curve, but we must embrace them and stay abreast of new developments in not only research, but in holistic therapies and counselling skills too. It may be that there are other areas that you can learn from too, and that can help you expand your role.

to our successes rch in “Decen t, but effective, resea ing from the front.” lead s u will show Gillian Killiner I would love 2018 to be the year that dietitians take over social media, are seen all over the media and join forces together to highlight the amazing resources that we offer. I believe in us as a profession. Do you?

“We LISTEN to our clients. We provide a therapy that often helps reduce the need for drugs.

By promoting hydration and nutrition in the community, we have the potential to keep our elderly patients out of hospital. We help get patients home faster. We have a huge range of specialisms. We have a professional code of conduct and duty to maintain CPD. We have a minimum qualification of undergraduate degree and registration.”

Ashleigh Macaskill

www.NHDmag.com April 2018 - Issue 133

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