Course Outline

NUT404 Community and Public Health Nutrition

Course Coordinator:Angela Cleary (acleary@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health and Behavioural Sciences

2024Semester 1

UniSC Sunshine Coast

Blended learning Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online.

Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

NUT404 enables you to integrate the theory of community and public health nutrition in a practical project completed in a Work Integrated Learning environment. It is essential preparation for professional practice as a dietitian. You will complete a supervised community or public health nutrition project in collaboration
with an external organisation or at USC, or it may be a collaboration with both. Successful completion of NUT404 in addition to NUT402, NUT403 and NUT405 will enable you to demonstrate skills that meet the Dietitians Association of Australia National Competency Standards, while incorporating ethical and
professional behaviour.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Placement 1hr Not applicable Not Yet Determined

Course Topics

NUT404 is a Work Integrated Learning Course. You will complete a supervised community or public health nutrition project in collaboration with an external organisation or at USC, or it may be a collaboration with both.

What level is this course?

400 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming...
1 Demonstrate professional leadership through planning, implementing and evaluating a nutrition project in collaboration with key stakeholder. Ethical
Engaged
2 Apply an evidence-based approach to practice which recognises the multifactorial and interconnected determinants influencing nutrition and health. Empowered
Sustainability-focussed
3 Prioritise, evaluate and advocate for change to improve the nutrition status of population. Empowered
4 Use a critical thinking approach to plan and deliver strategies to address a key nutrition issues in collaboration with key stakeholders. Creative and critical thinker
5 Document and disseminate the outcomes of a nutrition project that aims to improve the nutrition quality of a population group. Creative and critical thinker
6 Practices within ethical, legal and professional boundaries and demonstrates compliance with the student placement Code of Conduct. Ethical

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

NUT301 and NUT302 and NUT312 and NUT361 and NUT400 and enrolled in Program SC353 or SC302

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Limited Grading (PNP)

Pass (PU), Fail (UF). All assessment tasks are required to be passed for successful completion of the course.

Details of early feedback on progress

Feedback will be provided by the academic placement supervisor/course coordinator on key documents and submissions uploaded to PebblePad. Specifically, this will include feedback provided on a draft project plan submitted at the end of week 2 of the placement and a draft summary report submitted early week 6. At the beginning of week 4 formative feedback will also be provided by the academic placement supervisor, in collaboration with the placement workplace supervisor, on the progression towards professional DA competencies. The week 4 feedback will be provided face to face or via phone or Zoom.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Placement performance Individual
N/A
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) To be Negotiated
All 2 Code of Conduct Individual
N/A
Refer to Format To be Negotiated
All - Assessment Task 1:Professional competency
Goal:
To demonstrate professional competencies as a dietitian through the provision of a project that aims to address an identified community or public health nutrition issue.
Product: Placement performance
Format:
Over the period of your placement you will work either in pairs or individually (depending on
scope of project) to conduct a public health nutrition project and disseminate the project
outcomes to key stakeholders. You will be notified whether you are working in pairs or
individually at the beginning of semester and will be provided with an outline of the project
1-2 weeks prior to the placement start date.
You will be assessed on your professional competencies by the academic placement
supervisor/course coordinator in collaboration with the placement workplace supervisor.
Demonstration of the Dietitians Australia (DA) National Competency
Standards for Dietitians relevant to this course will be through successful completion of the
following: 
a.	PebblePad Portfolio. This portfolio will be completed weekly during placement. You will be guided to upload artefacts demonstrating DA competencies. These artefacts will include a project plan at the end of week 2, a summary report in week 6 and other critical documents that demonstrate skills relevant to the assigned DA competencies. You will also reflect on your progression towards DA competencies in weeks 3-5. 
b.	Structured interview.  An interview of 30 minutes will be conducted in week 6. This may be conducted via video conference or in person depending on the location of the placement. The interview will involve a series of predetermined questions which require you to demonstrate the achievement of DA competencies.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1
Communicates appropriately and works collaboratively with key stakeholders whilst using own initiative to improve nutrition and health of population groups. (DA competency 4.1.1, 4.2.2,4.2.3, 1.3.5)
1
2
Prioritises key issues, formulates goals and objectives and implements strategies in collaboration with key stakeholders to address a nutrition issue (DA Competency 2.1.3, 2.1.4)
1 3
3
Applies a socio-ecological approach to practice (DA competency 2.2.5)
2
4
Advocates for change to influence nutrition and health in the public health nutrition setting (DA Competency 2.2.1, 2.2.2)
3
5
Applies a problem-solving approach to evaluate nutrition interventions and develop strategies to address an identified nutrition issue within a population group, (DA competency 3.1.2, 3.1.3)
4
6
Accurately and appropriately disseminates outcomes of a nutrition project to key stakeholders (DA competency 3.2.4)
5
All - Assessment Task 2:Student Placement Code of Conduct
Goal:
This task enables you to become familiar with and demonstrate the code of conduct for your discipline and work within its guidelines during your Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experiences.
Product: Code of Conduct
Format:
During your WIL experience you are required to complete a Community Public Health Nutrition placement in collaboration with an external organisation and or USC. To be eligible to pass, you are required to complete this placement satisfactorily according to the criteria below. If you fail to meet the student placement code of conduct you can be immediately withdrawn from the work place and may fail the course as per the USC Workplace and Industry Placement Procedures
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1
Behaviour that is in accordance with the student code of conduct
6
2
completion of pre-placement training
6
3
Completion of assigned placement hour
6

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.

Required? Author Year Title Edition Publisher
Required Hughes & Margetts 2011 Practical Public Health Nutrition n/a Wiley & Blackwell

Specific requirements

Students are expected to familiarise themselves with the timing and length of placements in the program and plan for these accordingly. All fourth-year placements are full-time (i.e. five days per week).
Occasionally, placements will require students to work outside normal business hours and it is likely that some placements will occur away from the Sunshine Coast. Costs related to travel, accommodation, uniform (USC student polo shirt), and other expenses incurred to attend placement are the student’s
responsibility. Queensland Health placements are coordinated on a state-wide basis and, therefore, students should be prepared to undertake placements outside the local geographical area. This includes planning for the potential inability to undertake paid employment during placement and for travel, living and accommodation
expenses associated with placements. Students will be required to complete pre-placement online modules by the 18th January 2021, to prepare for all placements in fourth year including NUT402, NUT403 and NUT404.

How are risks managed in this course?

Risk assessments have been performed for all field activities and a low level of health and safety risk exists. Some risks concerns may include working in an unknown environment as well as slip and trip hazards. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation.  It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline.  This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person.  You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin.  This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Limited Graded Course:

This course will be graded as Pass in a Limited Grade Course (PU) or Fail in a Limited Grade Course (UF) as per clause 4.1.3 and 4.1.4 of the Grades and Grade Point Average (GPA) - Institutional Operating Policy of the USC.

In a course eligible to use Limited Grades, all assessment items in that course are marked on a Pass/Fail basis and all assessment tasks are required to be passed for a student to successfully complete the course. Supplementary assessment is not available in courses using Limited Grades.

Assessment: Submission penalties

You must contact your Course Coordinator and provide the required documentation if you require an extension or alternate assessment.

SafeUniSC

UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.

The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.

Study help

For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.

If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.

Wellbeing Services

Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.

AccessAbility Services

Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

  • In person:
    • UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
    • UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
    • UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
    • UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
    • UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
    • UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
  • Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
  • Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au