SKILLS & LEARNING
THE NUTRITION SOCIETY’S TRAINING ACADEMY What does the future hold for nutrition training? Education and CPD play an important role in the Nutrition Society’s aim of advancing nutritional science. Penny Hunking RD, RNutr Honorary Officer with the Nutrition Society Penny is an independent Registered Dietitian and has worked with a diverse range of companies and organisations over her career. She has written, researched and talked to consumers and professionals about numerous aspects of diet, weight management and exercise.
The need for evidence-based dissemination and informed practice of nutritional science and skills has never been greater. The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases1 is placing the spotlight firmly on diet and lifestyle interventions against a backdrop of continued mixed messaging and public confusion, with some 61% of adults citing changing advice from experts as one of their biggest causes of confusion.2 Programmes such as the ‘Need for Nutrition Education and Innovation programme’ (NNEdPro), have highlighted the need to embed nutrition education into the wider healthcare system, with emerging scientific evidence particularly vulnerable to misinterpretation.3 Dietitians and other nutrition professionals play a key role in impacting the nutritional status and health outcomes of populations,4 as well as helping to translate and disseminate nutritional science among healthcare peers and the public. Yet, with nutrition research constantly evolving, we know that even among dietitians and nutritionists, a lack of confidence in the science surrounding new or evolving topics can provide a significant barrier to integrating knowledge into practice.5 Nutrition education and continuing professional development (CPD) are, therefore, key - and play an important role in the Nutrition Society’s central aim of advancing nutritional science. THE NUTRITION SOCIETY AND TRAINING
The training section of the Society began in 2011. Since its implementation, 50
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developments in technology have led to a re-evaluation and redesign of the Society’s training programme. As a result of market analysis and consultation, the Nutrition Society Training Academy (NSTA) was launched in June last year. Focused on concise, targeted online training, as well as face-to-face workshops where required, the NSTA aims to enhance and invest in the improvement of nutrition science. In a landscape of diminished time and budgets, e-learning provides a flexible option for providing training that can reach the widest possible audience. A 2010 report commissioned by the General Medical Council, found that cost, study-leave availability and the difficulties of maintaining a worklife balance were the biggest barriers to effective CPD among healthcare professionals.6 As a result, the NSTA Committee pledged to meet your training needs as evidence-based healthcare practitioners, and we hope our current schedule demonstrates that we are heading in the right direction. Over the course of the year, the NSTA will be expanding its delivery of webinars so that you can participate irrespective of interest or career stage. The NSTA has certainly hit the ground running, delivering five live webinars to date, as well as two international workshops: ‘Understanding Scientific Publishing’ and ‘Statistical Guide for Nutrition Research’, at the Africa Nutritional Epidemiology Conference (ANEC VIII). Over 300 delegates have benefited from the NSTA’s programme so far.