MS in Nutrition & Dietetics - RD Track Preceptor Handbook

Let the student and the practicum instructor know early in the rotation if the student is not meeting expectations so he/she can learn and adjust. Evaluation results should not be a surprise at the end of a rotation.

Help with work load: Students need to develop proficiency at gathering assessment data and doing the very things that can be the most time consuming for you. Once students are properly trained and oriented to your facility, they can be very helpful.

A fresh perspective: A second set of eyes looking for the same things you do can provide additional information or a new perspective on a situation or problem. Students have very little prior history influencing their decisions and can often bring fresh creativity to the work place.

Up to Date Information: Nutrition knowledge is constantly evolving and growing with continuous research. Students have access to the most current information in the field. Although they lack experience, their didactic education is fresh and they can be a resource on developing topics as well. Allowing them to share their knowledge makes the student feel valued and builds confidence.

Further Develop Your Management Skills: Precepting requires many management skills, from time and project management to coaching and personnel development. If management is a personal career goal, this can be a very valuable learning experience for you.

Opportunity to get a Special Project Done: Use student case studies and projects to do an analysis or project that you have identified as important to your organization but haven’t had the time or resources to complete. This allows the work to be a win-win situation for you and the student and can be rewarding as well.

Communicate: It is critical to communicate not only with the student, but with the Practicum Instructor and others in your organization regarding the student and their learning experience.

Orient: Providing a thorough orientation to the student saves you time and protects the student, the organization, and your clients. As much as possible, make information available in writing so they can refer back to it.

It is always preferable to address the student directly with a reminder of clear expectations, before contacting the A-State Practicum Instructor. Remind the student of the expectation, and why it is important. Never ignore a problem and assume the student knows what is expected. If a student ignores a clear expectation that you have reminded them about twice, always contact the Practicum Instructor to describe the situation and share your concerns. The sooner we are aware, the sooner we can work on resolution. This information should never be a surprise to the student.

1. Absence or Tardiness. Absences from the supervised practice facility must be reported to the preceptor and the Practicum Instructor. The preceptor should be notified prior to the time the student is expected to be present; the Practicum Instructor should be notified shortly thereafter. It is not the responsibility of the preceptor to notify the Practicum Instructor that a student was absent. Students understand that they must accumulate a specific number of hours in each supervised experience and that all hours missed must be made up, at your convenience, including emergencies. Options must be acceptable to you and your schedule. Absence and tardiness reflect poorly on the student’s professional behavior and work ethic and may result in corrective/disciplinary action.

2. Emergency Absence. Students are expected to contact both the preceptor and the Practicum Instructor prior to the start time if they have an emergency and will be late or absent.

3. Inappropriate Dress. This may be the first time a student has ever dressed for a professional workplace. While we attempt to be as specific as possible regarding proper attire, some issues may need to be pointed out or reinforced.

4. Making personal phone calls, texting or sending personal email messages while at supervised practice facility. Students are instructed to use cell phones and electronic devices as a student resource (textbook or calculator) or as a phone only in case of family emergency UNLESS specified otherwise by the preceptor and/or individual facility policy. They should get your permission if they need to make a call due to an emergency. Generally, their full attention should be on their learning experience.

5. Negative, disrespectful or unprofessional behavior. Like any other behavior, clear expectations, timely correction and modeling appropriate behavior is the way to correct this behavior. Explain why it is important to behave in specific ways in certain circumstances. If you need help handling this type of behavior, discuss this with the Practicum Instructor.

6. Excessive knowledge gaps. You may wish to discuss the previous coursework and background of the student. They simply may not have been taught certain material yet. However, if they are not recalling information that they have been taught, they will need to develop a plan to augment their knowledge and review material. It is not your job to teach this material; it is a good idea to contact the Practicum Instructor and get their assistance in helping the student with this plan. It is in the student’s personal best interest to address these issues as well, as they will be attempting to pass the RD exam and become a competent entry-level dietitian at the completion of the program.

7. Personality conflicts. This usually is not a matter of the student doing anything wrong. On some RARE occasions, certain personalities simply do not mix. It is best to discuss this with the Practicum Instructor to see if any action is warranted or resolution can be reached.

The commission on Dietetic Registration allows for continuing education hours to be awarded for precepting students. One to three hours are awarded depending on the amount of contact time with the student. Forms may be found at https://www.cdrnet.org/cpeu-credit-for-preceptors.

I am not an intern. As a student in a Coordinated Program supervised practice experiences, I can be anywhere in my professional program, from an entry-level student to my final semester. However, I am not done with my didactic program, as an intern would be. Thus, I may have gaps in my knowledge, and I hope that you will be understanding. I am here to learn. Supervised practice experiences are an extension of classroom learning. Feel free to provide supplemental learning material to facilitate my ability to function in your setting.

I am not like your last student. Students come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some of us are very young and inexperienced and have rarely worked before while others are pursuing second careers, are more mature and have a great deal of work experience. I might be very comfortable with patients or could need more exposure to develop confidence with patients. We come from a wide range of cultural and experience backgrounds that are sure to enrich your workplace.

No matter who I am, this is all new to me. Please be patient and encourage me to take risks in order to develop confidence. For the most part, every experience that I enter is a Coordinatedforeign Program?environment. It is similar to starting a new job every couple of months! Please take the time to orient me to the physical environment and policies, and even to describe the culture at your particular facility.

ArkansasShare Statewith University’sme Coordinatedyour Program“tips and tricks.” Please let me learn from your experiences by sharing the “tricks of the trade” and techniques you have developed along the way. How do you manage time and work load? How do you handle difficulty situations? If a particularly good learning opportunity arises, please include me in Dieteticsit.

Please beganremember that I am still in 2012school. asWe thestudents only program of its kindare in Arkansas. Originally offered at the undergraduate level, it has since transitioned into a fully online graduate program, awarding the Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics (MSND).

A coordinated program integrates graduate-level coursework with 1,080 hours of supervised practice. Students complete both components simultaneously, allowing them to immediately apply classroom learning in professional settings. This highly structured approach ensures that supervised practice experiences reinforceand academicalso contenthave a full load of coursework to attend to during evenings and prepareweekends. graduatesWe are expected to be flexible and give you our full attention for entry-levelthe dieteticshours practice.we have committed to, but additional hours beyond our experience requirements may be impractical given our course load.

All students mustare carryrequired to have health, automobile,automobile and professional liability insurance and provide documentation to the program director before beginning supervised practice rotations.

While the program makes reasonable efforts to assist students in identifying appropriate supervised practice experiences, placement at a specific site or geographic location cannot be guaranteed. Students should anticipate that travel may be required to complete supervised practice experiences. The availability of qualified sites and preceptors varies by geographic location. In some cases, students may need to travel, temporarily relocate, or complete rotations outside their local area to meet program requirements and required competencies. Students are responsible for transportation, travel-related expenses, and liability associated with travel to sites within a 75–90 mile radius of their home. They must furnish their own reliable transportation and assumefrom allsupervised costspractice and liability.sites. Travel time does not count toward supervised practice hours.

Students who are injured or become ill or sustain an injury during a supervised practice willexperience may be sentreferred to thean Emergencyemergency Roomdepartment, urgent care facility, or private physicianhealthcare asprovider appropriate.for evaluation and treatment. Students are responsible for anyall financialcosts expensesassociated incurred,with asmedical wellcare asand must maintain health insurance tocoverage coverthroughout suchenrollment emergenciesin the program. Arkansas State University and follow-upsupervised care.practice facilities are not responsible for medical expenses incurred as a result of illness or injury during supervised practice experiences.

StudentsAll arestudents requiredadmitted to undergothe Coordinated Program must successfully complete a drug test and criminal background check ifprior requiredto bybeginning the program. The criminal background check must have been completed within six months of the first day of classes. Some supervised practice site.facilities may require additional criminal background checks, drug testing, fingerprinting, or other screening procedures as a condition of placement. Students are responsible for anyall feescosts associated with theserequired screening procedures. Failure to satisfy program or supervised practice facility requirements may prevent participation in supervised practice experiences and may delay progression or completion of the program.

Students completing supervised practice experiences will not be used to replace employees or perform routine staffing functions. Planned staff-relief experiences may occur when educationally appropriate and necessary to achieve program competencies. Such experiences are designed to enhance learning and are supervised in accordance with program requirements. Students are not compensated for supervised practice hours completed as part of program requirements.

Students are expected to dress inmaintain a clean, neat, and professional mannerappearance at allduring supervised practice sites.experiences. ImproperFailure attireto willcomply with dress requirements may result in dismissal from the site until appropriate attire is obtained. Time missed is counted as an absence.

Students must wear:

Clinical Rotations

Students are expected to changewear clothes,professional attire appropriate to the practice setting.

Acceptable attire includes:

Attire must be clean, neat, in good repair, and timeappropriate lostfor patient care and professional interactions.

Not permitted:

Shoes

Tennis shoes or athletic shoes may be worn only when approved by the supervised practice site.

SpecificHair

Food Service Rotations

Requirements include:

Community Rotations

Dress requirements vary by rotationsite.

When labapproved, coatstudents requiredmay inwear:

Additional A‑StateAppearance t‑shirtStandards

Students must comply with appearance standards established by supervised practice facilities, including requirements regarding tattoos, facial piercings, jewelry, hair, nails, fragrances, and other grooming practices. Students must comply with any additional appearance, dress, grooming, safety, and identification requirements established by supervised practice facilities. Facility requirements supersede program dress code requirements.

StudentsProfessional behavior is expected in all academic and supervised practice settings.

Examples include:

Professional behaviors are expectedevaluated throughout coursework and supervised practice experiences. Areas evaluated may include critical thinking, interpersonal skills, communication skills, use of constructive feedback, problem-solving, professionalism, responsibility, and stress management. Students demonstrating deficiencies in professional behavior may be subject to remediation and disciplinary procedures as outlined in this handbook.

Failure to demonstrate ethical performance, punctuality, completion of assignments, positive relationships, compliance with dress code, and responsiveness to feedback. Unprofessional or disruptiveprofessional behavior may resultlead in corrective orto disciplinary action.

Cell phones and electronicElectronic devices may be used onlywhen asapproved professionalby resourcesfaculty or supervised practice sites.

Students may not: