Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, Brigham Young University (BYU), 1 Campus Dr, 84604, Provo, UT, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Mar 6;24(1):244. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05251-2.
The systems approach has been used to evaluate higher education and explores inputs, transformation process, and outputs of a system that is also influenced by environmental factors such as COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted many college students to different learning modes, changing their university experience. This study evaluated dietetics students' education experiences and characteristics in the latter period (spring 2022) of the COVID-19 pandemic using the systems approach.
Researchers developed and distributed an electronic survey to all 215 US-based Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) directors during March to May 2022 to forward to their students. Researchers calculated descriptive statistics for variables related to inputs, transformation process, and outputs in the systems approach.
Respondents (n = 341) represented 51 DPDs in 31 states in the United States. Overall, DPD students (88.5%) were mostly or very satisfied with their choice of majoring in dietetics. Most (84.0%) planned to earn the RDN credential. Nearly half (46.9%) of DPD students were somewhat or extremely concerned about their readiness to continue their dietetics education path due to the pandemic-related learning conditions. Most students (43.6%) reported dissatisfaction with asynchronous remote instruction in laboratory courses. DPD students' GPAs remained consistent within the range of 3.75-4.0 from Fall 2019 (43.2%) to Spring 2022 (44.5%). The most important expectations of professors moving forward were to communicate effectively (97.3%), employ cultural humility (93.8%), eliminate discrimination in the classroom (93.6%), provide lecture slides (89.7%), and be flexible and accommodating (88.7%).
DPD students emerged from COVID-19 with new perspectives and expectations for their university learning experience. Future research should explore the perspectives of DI directors, preceptors, and employers of COVID-19 era DPD graduates.
系统方法已被用于评估高等教育，并探讨了一个系统的投入、转化过程和产出，该系统还受到 COVID-19 等环境因素的影响。COVID-19 大流行使许多大学生转变为不同的学习模式，改变了他们的大学体验。本研究采用系统方法评估了 COVID-19 大流行后期（2022 年春季）营养学学生的教育经历和特点。
研究人员于 2022 年 3 月至 5 月期间向美国所有 215 名教学计划营养学主任（DPD）发送了一份电子调查，并要求他们转发给学生。研究人员计算了系统方法中与投入、转化过程和产出相关的变量的描述性统计数据。
受访者（n=341）代表美国 31 个州的 51 个 DPD。总体而言，DPD 学生（88.5%）对主修营养学的选择非常满意或满意。大多数（84.0%）计划获得 RDN 证书。近一半（46.9%）的 DPD 学生因与大流行相关的学习条件而对继续他们的营养学教育道路的准备情况有些担忧或非常担忧。大多数学生（43.6%）报告对实验室课程的异步远程教学不满意。DPD 学生的平均绩点（GPA）在 2019 年秋季（43.2%）到 2022 年春季（44.5%）期间保持在 3.75-4.0 的范围内。教授们未来最重要的期望是有效沟通（97.3%）、运用文化谦逊（93.8%）、消除课堂上的歧视（93.6%）、提供幻灯片（89.7%）和灵活和包容（88.7%）。
DPD 学生在 COVID-19 期间获得了新的视角和对大学学习体验的期望。未来的研究应该探讨 DI 主任、导师和 COVID-19 时代 DPD 毕业生雇主的观点。
