Course Outline
NUT407 Dietetics Professional Practice
Course Coordinator:Tania Wiesmayr-Freeman (twiesmay@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Nutrition and Dietetics
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
This Work Integrated Learning (WIL) course is essential preparation for professional practice as a dietitian. You will demonstrate competencies by providing culturally safe, ethical and professional behaviour in private practice and skills in leadership, teamwork and business. You will be placed at the UniSC clinic for two weeks and working on group project on campus for two weeks. Academic staff allocate placement and you must complete a minimum of 190 hours (full-time). This WIL course contributes to 100 placement days required for professional accreditation.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Placement – 190 hours of WIL, consisting of full-time placement and full-time, on-campus, group work (full-time). Academic staff allocate WIL placement. | 190hrs | Not applicable | Once Only |
Course Topics
Dietetic services within a clinic or private practice setting
Mentoring
Business planning
Leadership
Management
Teamwork
What level is this course?
400 Level (Graduate)
What is the unit value of this course?
24 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 | Use negotiation and conflict resolution skills in dietetic practice | Empowered |
| 2 | Demonstrate organisational, business and managerial skills recognising the multifactorial determinants of dietetic practice | Empowered |
| 3 | Collaborate effectively with individuals and within teams to improve nutrition and health outcomes | Engaged |
| 4 | Show cultural safety and responsiveness when communicating with individuals including from diverse backgrounds. | Engaged |
| 5 | Demonstrate critical reflection and safe, professional practice | Engaged |
| 6 | Practice within ethical, legal and professional boundaries and comply 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 NUT309 and enrolled in Program SC302 or SC406
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)
Details of early feedback on progress
Formative Feedback will be provided by the Academic Placement Supervisors/Course Coordinator on the progression of professional competencies, from artefacts uploaded to an e-portfolio, modules completed on Canvas and through collaboration with the Placement Workplace Supervisor.
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 | Over a four-week full-time placement you will undertake two weeks in a private practice environment and two weeks working on a group project. Placement dates may vary between students. |
Refer to Format | Online ePortfolio Submission |
| All | 1a | Portfolio | Individual | 4 weeks. Various artefacts are required at different times throughout the placement. |
Refer to Format | Online ePortfolio Submission |
| All | 1b | Plan | Individual | 2 weeks. The business plan needs to be submitted by COB on the last day of the 2-week team project placement. |
Refer to Format | Online ePortfolio Submission |
| All | 1c | Oral | Individual | 2 weeks. The business pitch needs to be submitted by COB on the last day of the 2-week team project placement. |
Refer to Format | Online ePortfolio Submission |
| All | 1d | Oral | Individual | 2 weeks. The interview will be conducted on the final day of your two week project placement. |
Refer to Format | Online ePortfolio Submission |
| All | 2 | Code of Conduct | Individual | N/A |
Refer to Format | To be Negotiated |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Professional Competencies | |
| Goal: | You will demonstrate professional competencies as a dietitian that are relevant to leadership and collaboration in a team. These are based on the Dietitians Australia National Competency Standards for dietitians. To do this you will undertake supervised Work Integrated Learning and perform the tasks of a dietitian working in a dietetic private practice environment, complete relevant modules, and work in a team developing a business plan. |
| Product: | Placement performance |
| Format: | You will be assessed on your individual professional competencies at the end of the placement by the Course Coordinator, Placement Academic Supervisor and Placement Workplace Supervisors. The assessment will also take into account a range of evidence as described in tasks 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d. The strategies used as evidence will be described in the assessment instructions on Canvas. Formative Feedback will be provided by the Placement Academic Supervisors and Course Coordinator on the progression of professional competencies. Tasks 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d are formative, and you will receive feedback on your progression of competencies throughout placement. Formative assessment items provide evidence of the development of competency. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 1a:Professional Competencies | |
| Goal: | The purpose is to contribute evidence towards the final assessment of your professional competencies (Task 1). This task is formative and you will receive feedback on your progression of your competencies during placement. |
| Product: | Portfolio |
| Format: | You will complete the learning e-portfolio during placement and upload placement artefacts, self-reflections, and relevant supervisor feedback forms. The portfolio tasks will align with the relevant DA competencies. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 1b:Business Plan | |
| Goal: | The purpose of this task is to contribute evidence towards the final assessment of your professional competencies (Task 1). This task is formative and you will receive feedback on your progression of your competencies during the two-week placement. |
| Product: | Plan |
| Format: | You will work in a team to develop a business concept which will be presented as a business plan. The document will be uploaded to your e-portfolio by the end of your 2 week team project placement. The product itself is not assessed but the activity will help you to complete reflections on collaboration and teamwork in your e-portfolio. It will also relate to the questions in the final interview. The portfolio tasks align with the relevant DA competencies. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 1c:Business Pitch | |
| Goal: | The purpose of this task is to contribute evidence towards the final assessment of your professional competencies (Task 1). This task is formative and you will receive feedback on your progression of your competencies during the two-week placement. |
| Product: | Oral |
| Format: | You will work in a team to produce a 10- minute video. The video will be a business pitch to potential investors. The pitch will be based on the business plan produced in task 1c. The product itself is not assessed but the activity will help you to complete reflections on collaboration and teamwork in your e-portfolio. It will also relate to the questions in the final interview. The portfolio tasks align with the relevant DA competencies. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 1d:Interview | |
| Goal: | The purpose is to contribute evidence towards the final assessment of your professional competencies (Task 1). This task is formative, and you will receive feedback on your progression of competencies during placement |
| Product: | Oral |
| Format: | A structured interview between yourself and the Course Coordinator will be conducted at the end of the 2-week project placement. This will consist of questions and discussions which align with the relevant DA competencies. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 2:Student Code of Conduct | |
| Goal: | This task enables you to become familiar with and demonstrate the requisite professional behaviours captured in the Code of Conduct for your discipline and work environment |
| Product: | Code of Conduct |
| Format: | You are required to complete a minimum of 190 hours (full-time), consisting of full-time placement (2 weeks) plus online group activities and online modules. The Academic Placement Supervisor/s and Course Coordinator, in collaboration with your Placement Workplace Supervisor, will evaluate your performance. If you fail to meet the Student Code of Conduct, you may fail the course and can be withdrawn from the workplace immediately, as per the UniSC Workplace and Industry Placement - Procedures. |
| Criteria: |
|
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 | Rowan Stewart | 0 | Handbook of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics | 7th | n/a |
| Required | Marcia Nelms,Kathryn P. Sucher | 2019 | Nutrition Therapy and Pathophysiology | n/a | Cengage Learning |
Specific requirements
Students are expected to familiarise themselves with the timing and length of WIL courses in the program and plan for these accordingly. All fourth-year WIL courses are full-time (i.e. five days per week). Occasionally, WIL placements will require students to work outside normal business hours. Costs related to travel, accommodation, uniform (UniSC student dietitian blouse/ shirt), and other expenses incurred to attend a WIL placement are the student’s responsibility. Students are required to comply with all mandatory requirements to be eligible for WIL placements. Students will be required to complete pre-WIL placement online modules prior to commencement of the course. Online modules are to be completed in the second week of January 2023.
How are risks managed in this course?
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
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 UniSC. 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
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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