Our mission is to empower and inspire student dietitians to gain experience across
a variety of the dietetic sector and find their footing to thrive in the dynamic ever-changing working world of dietetics.
The expansion of traditional placements is constrained by limited capacity to meet the workforce demands, a challenge exacerbated by the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and existing pressures on the healthcare system.
Despite dietitians' diverse roles across the NHS, food industry, education, research, sport, corporate companies, and freelance, the majority of placements predominantly occur in the traditional NHS sector. While these placements are essential for comprehensive training, venturing into other practice education areas offers students valuable opportunities for professional growth, significantly influencing the future workforce.
Supporting this diversified approach, the BDA curriculum recommends practice-based learning in innovative areas, endorsing opportunities in clinical simulation, technology-enabled care services, and public health, allowing 350 hours.
Founded with the aim of fostering the growth of practice placement opportunities for student dietitians nationwide, to.be.a.Dietitian offers a spectrum of educational activities, practice placements, and learning experiences tailored to BSc, MSc, and apprenticeship dietetic programs. This enables students to accumulate the requisite 1000 hours of practice placement experience, empowering universities to expand student numbers and meet the evolving needs of the workforce.
Absolutely! Ellie holds registration as a dietitian with the HCPC, is an active member of the British Dietetic Association, and has achieved fellowship status in the Higher Education Academy.
Ellie brings extensive experience in facilitating clinical placements throughout her NHS career. She has notably expanded placement opportunities in non-traditional sectors, orchestrating placements in public health and academic domains. Leveraging her profound understanding of HCPC standards of education and the BDA curriculum, coupled with her hands-on involvement in initiating, managing, and supporting practice placements, Ellie has played a pivotal role in establishing additional opportunities to fortify the future dietetic workforce at to.be.a.Dietitian.
Where required, we have access to work with knowledgeable freelance dietitians and lecturers. Depending on the number of students and the specific requirements of the placement, several dietitians may be involved in supervising and facilitating student placements.
The dietitians collaborating with us are chosen for their expertise in education, leadership, or specialised areas. Each has completed the BDA practice education training module and undergone the comprehensive to.be.a.Dietitian training.
Established by a dietetic academic, to.be.a.Dietitian aims to expand practice placement opportunities for student dietitians across the UK. Our offerings include customisable educational activities, practice placements, and learning experiences designed to align with BSc, MSc, and apprenticeship dietetic programs. This enables students to accumulate the essential 1000 hours of practice placement experience while supporting universities in expanding student numbers to meet workforce demands.
Universities face considerable challenges in growing student practice placements, especially given the limited capacity for NHS placements. Consequently, dietetic Higher Education Institution (HEI) teams have opted to internalise more practice education using simulation and virtual placements. However, this shift has resulted in an increased workload. Currently, HEI teams grapple with the challenges of academic staff attrition, recruitment difficulties, and freezes. to.be.a.Dietitian was established to address this placement capacity gap by offering top-quality practice placement opportunities, thereby alleviating the heightened workload pressures on HEI teams.
Our founder and primary educator are academic professionals with extensive experience in student training across various UK universities, the NHS, and private practice. They bring significant expertise in establishing practice education opportunities.
The dietitians collaborating with us are carefully chosen for their proficiency in education, leadership and specialisms. Each has successfully undergone the BDA practice education training module and completed the comprehensive to.be.a.Dietitian training.
We acknowledge the HEE non-NHS placement tariff, ensuring that our practice education opportunities incur no costs for universities or students.
Our practice based learning opportunities are conducted virtually, easing the financial burden on students, especially those ineligible for the bursary—such as international students.
We employ diverse models for student supervision and practice placements, providing tailored opportunities for practice education at all levels.
Our offerings include both virtual placements and long-arm supervision, allowing us to collaborate with universities and students across the nation.
HEI Information (pdf)
DownloadCouncil of Deans of Health (2022) Pandemic powered improvements Best practice in innovative healthcare education placements created during the pandemic. Access here
Health Education England (2020) A rapid expansion of AHP placements: Simulation & technology enabled care services (TECS) webinar. Access here.
Salmon (2021) Its time to embrace online work placements. Times article avaliable here
Taylor, N., Wyres, M., Green, A., Hennessy-Priest, K., Phillips, C., Daymond, E., Love, R., Johnson, R. and Wright, J., 2021. Developing and piloting a simulated placement experience for students. British Journal of Nursing, 30(13), pp.S19-S24. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.13.S19
Do What You Love Podcast (2020) Peer Enhanced E-Placement
Health Education England Occupational Therapy Example
Taylor, L. (2023). Constructing Online Work-Based Learning Placements: Approaches to Pedagogy, Design, Planning and Implementation (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003315872
Taylor, L and Salmon, G (2021) Enhancing Peer Learning through Online Placements for Health and Social Care Professions International Journal of Practice-based learning in Health and Social Care 9(2); 1-10 https://doi.org/10.18552/ijpblhsc.v9i2.723
Our placements aim to foster the four pillars of dietetic practice by providing opportunities to:
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