Food lab in Brescia's Academic Pavillion.

Curriculum

The DDEPT program offers three great pre-placement courses that will provide you with a mix of lectures and practical application as well as 40 weeks of practicum-based training.

Please note for the upcoming 2023 school year, all DDEPT courses will be offered virtually (online).

Foods and Nutrition 4901Y / 4902Y
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Dietetic Simulation and Regulatory, Legal & Ethical Issues in Dietetics

This course provides a critical appraisal of processes involved in patient care, counseling, nutritional assessment and clinical activities for various disease conditions. Building on skills and knowledge gained from undergraduate clinical courses, this course uses simulation exercises and case studies to engage students in critical thinking, clinical reasoning and evidence-based decision-making to promote an in-depth understanding of the relationship between clinical conditions and nutritional modifications.  Students will begin to think like a clinician and follow patient-centred care practices, learning to act as each patient’s nutritional ombudsman.  Legal principles/issues related to informed consent, liability, and regulatory and legal issues as they relate to dietetic practice are incorporated into case discussions. Ethical dilemmas and their resolution will provide opportunities for developing competence and judgment skills, attitudes and confidence. By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of current dietetic practice from both a clinical practice and regulatory perspective.

FN4901Y & FN4902Y Course Outline (2022 coming soon)

* Course outlines are subject to change

Foods and Nutrition 4903Y 
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Practice-Based Dietetic Research

This course provides interactive, applied learning and skills that students can immediately use for their practice-based projects. Topics include managing references, writing a literature review, designing a survey, facilitating a focus group, developing a research poster and more. Topics will vary according to current assigned projects. Preceptors supervising students in upcoming research placements can arrange to attend this course at no charge.

FN 4903Y Course Outline

* Course outlines are subject to change

Foods and Nutrition 4904Y 
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Practicum

Students complete 1400 hours of supervised practice in various organizations and locations. They work on-site or conduct site-related work on a predetermined schedule, typically 35-40 hours per week. Students must successfully complete the practical training demonstrating entry-level competence in all areas of dietetic practice (nutrition care, management, population health and practice-based research), to satisfy the practicum requirements for the diploma.

The dietetic practicum experiences will be in different areas of practice, for example:

  • Nutrition Care
  • Population & Public Health
  • Management
  • Research
  • Professional Practice
  • Communication & Collaboration

Students will rotate in each of these areas and the experiences will be offered by different facilities such as hospitals, public health units, community health centres, long-term care homes, and foodservice organizations.  Preceptors in each facility will supervise students' experiences and will evaluate their competencies.  In addition, the Dietetic Education Co-ordinator will monitor student’s experiences to ensure a smooth working relationship between the program, the preceptors and the students. 

Practicum Requirements

The Diploma program is divided into two major components:

  1. Post-graduate courses—taken online prior to the start of practicum placements
  2. Practicum placements 
Program Outline
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Early May – Early June (5 weeks online)

  1. Orientation & pre-placement training (1 Week online) – includes Motivational Interviewing, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training & Nutrition Support Workshops
  2. Pre-placement Courses: (4 Weeks online)
    • FN 4901Y—Dietetic Simulation Practice & FN 4902Y—Regulatory, Legal & Ethical Issues of Dietetic Practice (2 weeks, 35 hours/week)
    • FN 4903Y—Practice-based Dietetic Research (1 week, 35 hours/week)

*Progression into the Practicum is dependent upon completion of Pre-Placement courses with an average grade of at least 70% and no grade below 60%.

Practicum Placements
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Practicum placements (FN Course 4904) are throughout Ontario, with cohorts also located at London Health Sciences and Hamilton Health Sciences

The minimum number of weeks in each practice area are listed below. Students can increase weeks in any area by using 8 flex weeks. Typically, those completing placements at London Health Sciences Centre or Hamilton Health Sciences Centre will use a majority of flex weeks in nutrition care placements.

  1. Nutrition Care (16 weeks)
  2. Population and Public Health (6 Weeks)
  3. Management (6 Weeks)
  4. Research (4 Weeks)
  5. Flex Weeks (8 weeks) – can be added to nutrition care, population health, management or research
  6. Educational Seminars (2 Weeks)
  7. Vacation – late December (2 Weeks)
  8. Educational Seminars and Exit Interviews (1 Week)

Total Program Length: 5 weeks in orientation/courses + 45 weeks in practicum/seminars = 50 weeks.

After Graduation

Our graduates have the advanced credentials needed to meet the increasingly complex requirements of institutional settings and patient and client services.

Graduates of the DDEPT program have found professional positions in all sectors: hospitals, community health centres, family health teams, Aboriginal health access centres, long-term care, food industry and foodservice management companies.