Practice Makes Perfect: Using a Dress Rehearsal to Apply Team Based Learning Practices in a Dietetic Internship.

Background: A dress rehearsal solidified training in Team Based Learning (TBL) for the instructors of the Dietetic Internship (DI) at Iowa State University (ISU). ISU offers the largest distance DI program in the country. Interns attend a 1-week orientation on campus before returning to their home locale to complete the 6-month program enabling their eligibility to be a Registered Dietitian. DI instructors wanted to convert traditional lectures to TBL as well as present a polished use of TBL for interns,utilizing the 4 –S’s approach. A dress rehearsal allowed concepts and pre-work to be modified in advance of interns arriving on campus. The TBL format was also used to provide a preceptor training. Description: Lectures on Nutrition Assessment were converted to activities using Readiness Assurance Process (RAP). Participants in the dress rehearsal included preceptors, department staff who were unfamiliar with TBL classroom as well as faculty and community dieticians both experienced and novice at using TBL. Delivery of the Individual Readiness Test (IRAT) utilized software to capture responses electronically allowing discussion to be adjusted on the fly. Using TBL with preceptors enabled better understanding of the concepts taught to the interns during the orientation week. Results: Following the dress rehearsal, Instructors included a guided worksheet to practice the 4-S. Interns reported significantly higher levels of self-confidence in applying the NCP after the TBL activities (pre-n=82, post-n=71, p.005). Preceptors found the TBL format to be fun and engaging. Conclusion: Interns demonstrated greater depth of understanding for on-site activities and with preceptors. Ties within their community of practice were strengthened. Instructors gained confidence in using TBL techniques and improved their facilitation of discussion

Dietary intake, dietary quality, and prevalence of obesity among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected adolescents and young adults in the REACH study

Objective: To examine dietary quality and weight status among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected youth. Methods: A cross-sectional dietary intake study was conducted with 264 HIV-infected and 127 HIV-uninfected youth from the REACH cohort study (67% black/non-Hispanic; 75% female). Dietary intake was collected using the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (98.2). The REACH study provided additional clinical, biochemical, and demographic data. Logistic and linear regression models were used for the analyses. Results: Dietary quality: HIV was associated with a mixed effect on dietary intake; however, differences in macro- and micronutrient intakes were noted only among males. HIV-infected males had higher energy, fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intakes than HIV-uninfected males. Although HIV-infected males had higher intakes of vitamin E, almost 40% of all participants had vitamin E intakes below the Estimated Average Requirements (EAR). A modified USDA's Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was used to look at overall dietary quality. The HEI was lower (indicating poor dietary quality) among HIV-infected compared to HIV-uninfected participants. Increased television watching was also associated with a lower HEI. Being female and having a higher self-perceived health was associated with a higher HEI. Obesity: Half of the HIV-infected (50.4%) and HIV-uninfected (54.3%) were overweight or obese. Prevalence of obesity decreased once CD4+ T-cells were <500 cells/[Mu]L. HIV did not modulate the effect of factors that increased the risk of obesity (female, living independently from parents/family, watching television [Greater than or equal to]3 hours/d, previous dieting, and being from the Northeast or South). Summary: These results demonstrate two important areas of health concern among HIV-infected adolescents. First, the dietary quality is poor, intakes of energy and dietary fat components are excessive, and the prevalence of obesity is high. Overweight and obese individuals with HIV infection may be at greater risk of developing metabolic abnormalities associated with HIV and antiretroviral therapy, such as hyperlipidemia, lipodystrophy, and insulin resistance. Second, the high prevalence of inadequacy in vitamin E intake may place individuals at increased oxidative stress associated with HIV infection. Nutrition educators should focus on developing individualized behavioral goals emphasizing improved dietary quality and physical activity to improve health and quality of life for these adolescents.</p

Practice Makes Perfect: Using a Dress Rehearsal to Apply Team Based Learning Practices in a Dietetic Internship.

Background: A dress rehearsal solidified training in Team Based Learning (TBL) for the instructors of the Dietetic Internship (DI) at Iowa State University (ISU). ISU offers the largest distance DI program in the country. Interns attend a 1-week orientation on campus before returning to their home locale to complete the 6-month program enabling their eligibility to be a Registered Dietitian. DI instructors wanted to convert traditional lectures to TBL as well as present a polished use of TBL for interns,utilizing the 4 –S’s approach. A dress rehearsal allowed concepts and pre-work to be modified in advance of interns arriving on campus. The TBL format was also used to provide a preceptor training. Description: Lectures on Nutrition Assessment were converted to activities using Readiness Assurance Process (RAP). Participants in the dress rehearsal included preceptors, department staff who were unfamiliar with TBL classroom as well as faculty and community dieticians both experienced and novice at using TBL. Delivery of the Individual Readiness Test (IRAT) utilized software to capture responses electronically allowing discussion to be adjusted on the fly. Using TBL with preceptors enabled better understanding of the concepts taught to the interns during the orientation week. Results: Following the dress rehearsal, Instructors included a guided worksheet to practice the 4-S. Interns reported significantly higher levels of self-confidence in applying the NCP after the TBL activities (pre-n=82, post-n=71, p.005). Preceptors found the TBL format to be fun and engaging. Conclusion: Interns demonstrated greater depth of understanding for on-site activities and with preceptors. Ties within their community of practice were strengthened. Instructors gained confidence in using TBL techniques and improved their facilitation of discussion.This poster is published as J.S. Johnson, E. Bergquist, L.Kruzich, A. St. Germain, T.Kruger, H. Bender, J. Anderson: Practice Makes Perfect: Using a Dress Rehearsal to Apply Team Based Learning Practices in a Dietetic Internship. Abstract for invited poster presentation 16th Annual Team Based Learning Collaborative, Orlando, FL, March,2017. Posted with permission.</p