BACHELOR OF DIETETICS (HONS)

Bachelor of Dietetics (Honours) program was the second program that was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education after the Medical Bachelor and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program on 26 March 2009. The program have been accredited by MQA in 2014. The recognition by MQA shows that this program has attained the quality standard set by MQA and is in compliance with the MQF. In four year times, the students will take up basic medical sciences, dietetics, nutrition, food sciences, and social sciences courses and conduct a small research project as a requirement for graduation. They will also undergo 1000 hours of clinical training in dietetics during their final year.

The Faculty’s Bachelor of Dietetics (Honours) programme shall produce Dietitians who are;

At the end of this program, students will be able to;

The duration of the course for this program is 4 years which each year consists of two semesters. Each semester consists of 14 weeks of learning. The minimum period for the completion of this program is 8 semesters, while the maximum period allowed is 10 semester

Clinical training is a compulsory component in Bachelor of Dietetics (Hons) program. It involves several attachments at Out-Patient Units, In-Patient Units (Medical, Surgical, and Gynaecology), Special Units (Paediatrics, Oncology, and Critical Care), Hospital Food Service Unit and Community Dietetics Unit. Clinical Training will be supervised by the Clinical Instructors and Local Preceptors at various facilities including Ministry of Health Malaysia Hospitals, Health Clinics and University Teaching Hospitals which UniSZA has a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with.

The assessment for clinical training will be based on end-of-semester examination and on-site continuous assessment which includes:

Those who fails in clinical examination in Semester 1 Year 4 for any course, will have to undergo an intensive clinical training for two weeks. At the end of two weeks intensive clinical training, there will be a special clinical examination. Those who pass this special clinical examination can move on to Semester 2 Year 4 and those who fails will have to repeat the whole semester again.

Meanwhile, those who poorly achieve less than 50% of continuous marks for any courses in Semester 2 Year 4 will have to undergo an intensive clinical training for three weeks. At the end of three weeks intensive clinical training, there will be a special clinical examination. Those who pass this special clinical examination can move on to sit end-of-semester examination and graduate and those who fails will have to repeat the whole semester again.

Those who pass in Clinical Training after undergoing intensive clinical training and special clinical examination will be given a maximum of 50 marks (passing mark) with Gred C for the course although their real marks would be higher than that.

Dietitians are the only qualified health professionals who can assess, diagnose and treat nutritional problems for patients. Dietitians are the healthcare professionals who apply the principles of food and nutrition to health and diseases. They practice in a variety of settings. Dietitians use the most up-to- date public health and scientific research on food, health and disease, which they translate into practical guidance to enable patient to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.

Clinical Dietitians provide services to inpatients and outpatients at hospitals. Doctors refer patients to the dietitians for consultation on the nutritional modifications required for the treatment of disease or specific dietary condition in the critically ill patients or patients with chronic diseases. Clinical Dietitians work in a multidisciplinary team approach with the doctor and other Allied Health Professionals like nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, etc. to provide holistic care to the patients.

Educator Dietitians works at universities, colleges, and medical centres. Besides being involved in the clinical settings, educator dietitians are also involved in providing teaching and education for undergraduates and postgraduate students.

Food Service Dietitians or catering dietitans are responsible for planning and management of the meal production (normal or therapeutic meals) and delivery system to ensure quality and safety of foods provided to the patients or clients. The food service organizations include hospitals, institutions, prisons, airline catering, staff cafeterias, food chain outlets, restaurants, etc. The dietitian’s responsibility encompasses understanding of organizational policies, management of manpower, budgeting, procurement, purchasing, storage, food preparation, cooking, meal presentation and serving to the patients or clients.

Community Dietitians works as part of a primary care team member for health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses in a variety of health care settings (e.g., health clinics, long-term care, home care, day care etc.). Some community dietitians carry out clinical-based patient care in the form of home visits for patients who are incapable to attend consultation at health facilities or require the services of a dietitian at home for meal planning, proper food preparation techniques and management of feeding regime for those on tube feeding.

Research Dietitians work at universities or research organizations. They conduct research studies including clinical trials in various aspects that support further development in dietetics research.

Sports Dietitians work with sports organizations, and agencies involved in the promotion of sports among the population. The dietitian will conduct nutritional assessment based on the type of sports and requirements, prescribe the recommended diet for individuals to achieve peak or optimum performance in competitive sports and advice on food choices, food preparation techniques and eating habits. The dietitian works closely with the team of professionals like doctors, physical fitness instructors, physiotherapists, sports psychologists and others in managing the wellbeing of the athletes.

Corporate or business dietitians encompass dietitians working in sectors whereby consultancy and professional advice is required in disseminating professional and accurate information about a particular product, consultancy or service. The corporate dietitian may work with other categories of dietitians, other organizations to network, share knowledge and experience, so as to help and meet the needs of the client. This may involve sectors like food manufacturing industry, food service industry, pharmaceutical industry and others.