Professional socialization in dietetics: a review of the literature.

The process of professionalization has been widely studied in nursing, but little is known about it in dietetics. We explored the process of professionalization using an integrative review of nursing literature. Three research questions were addressed: 1. What are the stages of professional socialization? 2. Who are the participants in the socialization process? 3. What challenges are associated with the socialization process? From an initial list of 322 articles compiled from a search of relevant databases, 49 English-language primary research papers were selected for review. A form of constant comparative analysis was conducted to extract relevant data into categories based on the research questions. Findings suggest that the process of professional socialization is a complex and stressful process, which occurs in three phases and begins before entry into the formal education system. Within the formal education system, faculty and preceptors can have a positive or negative impact on an individual's professional growth and development. Much work is needed to develop an understanding of this process in dietetics, but the findings will have immediate relevance to dietitians' educational and practice contexts.