Dietetics Professionals have a Positive Perception of Professional Development

doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(01)00202-4

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Volume 101, Issue 7, July 2001, Pages 820-824

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(01)00202-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study summarizes the perceptions towards the Professional Development Portfolio method of recertification and attitude towards professional development of dietetic professionals as measured in the national pilot study of the Portfolio. Portfolio compared to control respondents had greater awareness, and better understanding and knowledge of the Portfolio process after using the Portfolio guide. The perception that the Portfolio process will aid in maintaining competence did not differ between groups. The perception that self-reflection aided in determining career goals and confidence to conduct a learning needs assessment differed slightly between groups. Both groups had a positive attitude towards professional development and that continuing professional education (CPE) improved competence. All perceptions and attitudes were positive. The focus of CPE in foods, business, management, education, and research did affect the ability of dietetics professionals to find appropriate CPE. Rural and unemployed respondents had more difficulty finding appropriate CPE. The findings indicate that the Portfolio guide aides the dietetics professional using the Portfolio process and that the perception towards the Portfolio process is positive. Some dietetics professionals with different CPE focus had difficulty finding appropriate CPE, and this did not differ by control and Portfolio group. More innovative methods of CPE delivery may need to be considered for these practitioners.

Introduction

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) implemented the Professional Development Portfolio in June 2001. This Portfolio process was created to promote lifelong learning and provide tools to guide professional development (1). The major steps of the process are: Reflect on Practice; Conduct a Learning Needs Assessment; Develop a Learning Plan and Submit the Learning Plan to CDR; Implement the Learning Plan Through Continuing Professional Education (CPE) with the Eventual Submission of the CPE Log to CDR; and Evaluate the Learning Plan Outcomes (1).

A pilot test of the Portfolio was conducted to learn how well the proposed process worked. One objective of the pilot study was to determine dietetics professionals’ perceptions of the Portfolio process and attitude towards professional development, and to determine if their perceptions changed over the course of the study. Another objective was to determine if the Portfolio guide increased the ability to understand the Portfolio process. Hagus (2) found that the majority of health care professionals supported the need for CPE, but little research could be found about dietetics professionals’ attitude towards professional development. This information will be helpful to providers of CPE activities as they plan programs to meet the learning needs of dietetics practitioners.

Section snippets

Methods

The design of the Portfolio national pilot study and the description of the subjects were presented by Keim and colleagues (3). Briefly, an experimental design with follow-up measures was used. Instruments were sent to participants at three times: baseline (June 1998), 1-year follow-up (April 1999), and 2-year follow-up (March 2000). Participants were randomly assigned to the control or Portfolio group after the baseline instrument was returned. The control group participants continued as usual

Development and reliability of attitude scales

Attitude scores were generated for five sets of questions in the Portfolio survey. The five attitude scores measured the perception that the Portfolio maintained registration and competence (PMC), attitude towards professional development (APD), perception that self-reflection determined career goals (PSR), self-efficacy to conduct a learning needs assessment (SELN), and perception that continuing professional education improved competence (PCPE). Subjects responded to statements using a

Results

Subject description

A total of 1,082 instruments were returned at the 2-year follow-up for a 79% (1082/1373) response rate. There were 481 Portfolio (481/661; response rate 73%) and 597 control (597/714; response rate 84%) respondents. The majority of participants were 31 to 50 years old and female. A greater percentage were white and lived in suburban and urban areas. Over 54% were employed full-time and about 40% had an annual gross household income of greater than $60,001. Approximately half

Differences over time in the scores within groups

For those respondents who expressed opinions for all items at baseline and at the 2-year follow-up, PMC, PSR, SELN, and PCPE scores were not significantly different over time for either the control or the Portfolio group. The attitude towards professional development (APD) score decreased slightly between baseline and 2-year follow-up in the control group (baseline 30.1±3.8, 2-year follow-up 29.7±4.2, P<.05) but did not change in the Portfolio group (baseline 30.0±3.9, 2-year follow-up

Ability to find appropriate CPE activities

There were no significant differences between the control and Portfolio group in the ability to find appropriate CPE activities (data not shown); however, there were differences by focus of CPE and demographic characteristics. Table 4 summarizes the relation between focus of CPE activity and ability to find appropriate CPE activities. If the focus of CPE was in food science, business and communications, management, or research, a greater percentage of respondents had more difficulty finding CPE

Discussion

A promising result of the national pilot Portfolio study was that significantly more of the Portfolio participants completed self-reflection, assessed their learning needs, and developed learning plans than control participants and it took them less time to complete these important activities (5), (6). The Portfolio guide aided the Portfolio respondents in understanding the process and knowing what to do when the Portfolio process was implemented and the majority of Portfolio respondents were

Application

The study showed that the Portfolio process of recertification is a process that pilot study participants believed could be used to efficiently maintain competence. Areas of concern are the need for more affordable CPE activities for some practitioners and the possibility of using more innovative and technological methods of delivery for rural practitioners. Future research may want to determine more specifically why dietetics practitioners find some CPE activities do not meet their needs.

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. The authors would like to thank Kimberly Williams and Alicia Sparrer for their assistance during the data collection and manuscript writing phases of this project. The authors would also like to thank the CDR staff and members of the Competency Assurance Panel for their support during this project.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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Management in Dietetics: Are We Prepared for the Future?
2012, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Portfolios: A tool for the training and assessment of residents in dermatology, part 1
2011, Actas Dermo-Sifiliograficas
El portafolio del residente es un cuaderno de aprendizaje basado en la reflexión sobre la práctica diaria. Consiste en una recopilación de documentos (historias e informes clínicos), encuestas, fotografías y videograbaciones que permiten certificar la adquisición de las competencias necesarias para ejercer la profesión. Sirve al mismo tiempo como instrumento de evaluación, tanto formativa como sumativa. Favorece el autoaprendizaje continuo y progresivo alrededor de las preguntas: ¿qué he aprendido?, ¿qué aplicación ha tenido?, ¿qué me falta por aprender? y ¿qué he de hacer para alcanzarlo? Estas preguntas evidencian las competencias adquiridas y las deficiencias de formación, lo que permite la elaboración de un plan de mejora individual y su reevaluación posterior. Para su diseño se necesita en primer lugar hacer una lista de las competencias a adquirir y las actividades a realizar en cada año de residencia, con el fin de definir el perfil del profesional. Presentamos aquí un modelo de portafolio para la formación y evaluación de los residentes de Dermatología.
The medical resident's portfolio is a collection of materials that show reflective learning in the context of clinical practice. A portfolio contains documents (such as case histories and questionnaires the resident has used), images, and video recordings that reveal that an individual has acquired the competencies needed for professional practice. A portfolio is an assessment tool that simultaneously supports learning and gives evidence for certifying competence. It encourages independent continuing professional development that is incremental and centered on answering questions about what one has learned, how it might be applied, what still needs to be learned, and what must be done to reach one's goal. Answering such questions provides evidence of competencies that have been acquired and what is still lacking, allowing the trainee to develop a plan for personal improvement and evaluate subsequent achievements. The first step in creating a portfolio is to list required skills and abilities, along with the actions that will allow the resident to acquire them during each year of residency training. The ultimate goal is to define the resident's professional competence. We describe a model on which to base a training and assessment portfolio for residents in dermatology.
Management in Dietetics: Are We Prepared for the Future?
2007, Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Citation Excerpt :
Unfortunately, management is also one of the areas in which food and nutrition professionals report having the greatest difficulty finding continuing professional education programs to attend to enhance these skills (18). Management is perceived to be important to the dietetics profession (7,11) and is identified as a continuing education need by food and nutrition professionals (19). The research priorities proposed for the profession contain few management-related topics (20), and a recent survey indicates that only 4% of food and nutrition professionals are doing management research (21).
The professional development portfolio process: Setting goals for credentialing
2002, Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Citation Excerpt :
Because the PDP process requires reflection and assessment of learning needs, the limited amount of reflection and annual self-assessment activities reported by our participants might be of initial concern. However, in the PDP pilot, the portfolio participants used a learning needs assessment developed to successfully assist them with the process (15). The PDP pilot study did not report how respondents formulated goals.
Professional Development Portfolio (PDP), the new credentialing system for dietetics professionals, places the responsibility for learning, professional development, and career direction on the individual practitioner. This study used questionnaires and focus group interviews to determine whether dietitians engage in reflection, self-assessment, and goal setting, the critical components of PDP recertification. Volunteers (n=132) participated in 16 focus groups held during 8 state dietetic association meetings. Content analysis was conducted. Some subjects reflected using an informal non-structured process (42 text units), almost half (41%) performed annual self-assessments, and 25% set goals. Job availability, new practice areas, family obligations, and employer needs were key factors in goal formulation. Opportunities for self-direction, independent decision-making, and application of technical expertise were also considered in career choices and goal setting. Although few participants were currently performing PDP critical components, we conclude dietetic practitioners can gain the necessary skills for professional development with the newly available PDP Guide to support the portfolio process. We recommend that dietitians (a) allow sufficient time for the reflection process, including the use of additional tools; (b) develop personal mission statements to drive the goal-setting process; and (c) use effectiveness criteria to critique their goals. J Am Diet Asoc. 2002;102:1439–1444.
Physiotherapists' reported attitudes to and perceived influences on their continuing professional development: Results of an online questionnaire
2020, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation
Factors influencing acceptability and perceived impacts of a mandatory ePortfolio implemented by an occupational therapy regulatory organization
2018, Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions

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Article preview

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Methods

Development and reliability of attitude scales

Results

Differences over time in the scores within groups

Ability to find appropriate CPE activities

Discussion

Application

Acknowledgements

References (8)

An assessment of continuing education needs of dietitians

J Nutr Educ.

Disengagement and work constraints are deterrents to participation in continuing professional education among registered dietitians

J Am Diet Assoc.

The professional development 2001 Portfolio. J Am Diet Assoc

Health care professionals’ attitudes toward licensure, national certification, and continuing education requirementsResults of a Texas survey

J Allied Health.

Cited by (12)

Management in Dietetics: Are We Prepared for the Future?

Portfolios: A tool for the training and assessment of residents in dermatology, part 1

Management in Dietetics: Are We Prepared for the Future?

The professional development portfolio process: Setting goals for credentialing

Physiotherapists' reported attitudes to and perceived influences on their continuing professional development: Results of an online questionnaire

Factors influencing acceptability and perceived impacts of a mandatory ePortfolio implemented by an occupational therapy regulatory organization