XNH348 Medical Nutrition Therapy Counselling and Practice 3

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit is designed to extend your adaptive application of the nutrition care process when working with diverse clients and interdisciplinary teams on a range of clinical conditions and varied settings.  You will hone your clinical reasoning skills and ability to prioritise nutrition care applicable to increasingly complex clinical cases. Through the development of your written and verbal communication skills, you will respond to the cultural and cognitive needs of clients by translating scientific and technical information into practical advice and communicate this with members of an interdisciplinary team.

Practical learning activities will assist you in familiarity with the nature and operation of clinical and healthcare settings which may include hospitals and nursing homes, private practice, foodservice and community health facilities. This unit is part of a suite of units designed to challenge and prepare you for nutrition and dietetic practice.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Apply the Nutrition Care Process to identify, critically analyse and interpret relevant information from a variety of sources, including robust evidence, to inform holistic client-centred nutrition interventions across a range of complex medical conditions diverse social and cultural contexts
2. Interpret, translate and communicate clinically relevant and condition specific information for diverse client scenarios to related to specific client-focused nutrition goals and in the context of overall care plans and multidisciplinary treatments
3. Translate and communicate complex food and nutrition information using responsive, client-centred and culturally safe counselling across diverse complex client scenarios and inter-professional audiences, using a range of oral, written and digital formats.
4. Apply clinical leadership using autonomous and collaborative working practices to manage complex decision making in advanced dietetic practice, across diverse contexts using the principles of professionalism, cultural responsiveness and teamwork

Content

Learning Approaches

Your learning in this unit will be facilitated by on campus practical activities in tutorials and workshops, and flexible, self-directed engagement with weekly readings and online learning material. The on-campus sessions will include:

• tutorials
• workshops
• food laboratories
• simulation clinics
• WIL site visits and observations
• clinical case studies

The quality of your learning within this unit will be dependent upon your engagement with the content and its application to case studies and preparation for assessment items in the experiential sessions. Your learning from this unit will contribute to the development of your professional practice.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

In tutorials and workshops  you will receive formative feedback from  peers and academic staff on your performance during experiential activities. Reflections on your learning will be shared with your peer group. Academic staff will also provide general, formative feedback when facilitating group discussions. You will receive summative feedback and evaluation using a rubric on summative assessments. Formative and summative feedback mechanisms and timings are designed to evaluate your applied knowledge and skill acquisition and competency throughout the unit. It enables opportunity for you to reflect, and engage in autonomous learning as needed in order to succeed in your unit assessment, and ultimately as a professional in nutrition and dietetic practice

Assessment

Overview

The assessment for this unit is designed to prepare you for your work integrated learning experiences (WIL) in final year.  The assessments will build on each other with more complexity and are designed to support your clinical reasoning skills to support the delivery of evidenced based, culturally safe, client centred care.  Your final assessment will be undertaken in the clinical skills unit, and reflects the processes you will do on WIL as part of dietetic occasions of service.

Assessment information included on Canvas provides details of tasks for completion and the criteria to ensure all aspects are completed. Students are encouraged to contact the tutor or unit co-ordinator with any questions or concerns about the assessment items.

Formative assessment will be provided as part of problem based learning and clinical simulation will identify areas needing improvement prior to the completion of the final assessment.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies

You will build on the case study portfolio commenced in earlier studies to apply the nutrition care process to two increasingly complex medical case studies drawn from a variety of social and cultural contexts to plan and evaluate holistic, evidence based interventions including practical food based advice. This will include the modification of recipes. 

This is an authentic assessment: case-based assessments simulate dietetic practice by using the standardised structured process and clinical assessment tools that dietitians use to evaluate the nutrition problems of individual clients. Each case will involve making a detailed assessment of anthropometric, biochemical, physiological and nutrition data and result in the development of a nutrition intervention and monitoring plan to address the nutrition problem for the client. Client characteristics are diverse (for example related to cultural, economic, sexuality, ability, ethnicity, cultural and/or religious beliefs) with complex medical conditions that you will have explored in the online learning material and the activities undertaken in field experiences. Each case study will assist you in the development of your critical thinking and problem-solving skills in dietetic practice.

You will receive detailed feedback on your first case study that will assist you in the development of your critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills in the second more complex case study and will be written as an occasion of service in the client’s notes, which is standard practice and a requirement of employment for all health professionals.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.

Assessment: Examination (Practical)

You will undertake a practical examination to assess key clinical skills required for professional practice in dietetics (your final year WIL). This examination will involve interpretation of clinical information, nutrition diagnoses and the development of appropriate nutrition care plan written as an occasion of service. This examination will consolidate your knowledge and application of the nutrition care process and skills in critical thinking, clinical reasoning, written, verbal and non-verbal communication under examination conditions.

The exam simulates clinical dietetic practice and reflects processes you will do on your WIL in an acute health service as part of a health care team. The exam will be conducted in the clinical skills unit, where you will be will be given details of a deidentified patient, including a referral, medical records (with pathology reports, and other health team notes) and anthropometry.  You will be shown a video recording of the patient where you will gather other personal information such as those relate to diet.  You will be provided access to nutrition and dietetic resources, including those for patient education.  You will be given time to interpret this information and develop a nutrition care plan and using a template write a chart entry.  Using the ISBAR format you will write a short script for safe clinical patient handover for this patient, then in an individual room do a video recording of this ISBAR handover.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited in this assessment.

Threshold Assessment:

This assessment task needs to be satisfactorily completed to pass this unit. If you do not achieve the pass level for an assessment task you are able to make one re-submission of this work for the minimum pass level, only when their achieved mark/grade is within 10% (or 1 grade) of the pass level for the assessment item. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

This unit will require you participate in Work Integrated Learning activities off campus. As well as being responsible for your own travel arrangements, you will also be expected to wear professional clothing for these activities.

Costs

This unit will have food-based laboratories and may require you to wear protective clothing, including footwear and a long-sleeved chef's jacket.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Holli, B., and Beto, J. (2023). Communication and education skills for dietetics professionals (8th edition) Jones and Bartlett

Raymond, J. and Morrow, K. (Editors). (2022). Krause and Mahan's  food and the nutrition care process (16th edition) St Louis, MO Elsevier/Saunders.

Stewart, R. (Editor). (2022). Handbook of clinical nutrition and dietetics. (7th edition). Newstead, Brisbane, Australian Dietitian.

Recommended text(s)

Escott-Stump (2022) Nutrition and Diagnosis-related Care (9th edition) Chicago IL, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Risk Assessment Statement

As noted above, assessment for this unit will involve a workplace-based assignment. You are expected to be aware of and abide by the health and safety requirements of the workplace. You are also expected to undergo any induction or other training provided in the workplace for employees or visitors to the workplace as appropriate. You will be required to meet mandatory requirements including those for vaccination and suitability for working with special groups, please see the Workplace Integrated Learning website for further details.

This unit will involve workshop classes that will be held in a food laboratory area. You will be required to attend the induction session at the commencement of the semester where the safety precautions to be observed while working in the laboratory will be outlined. You are required to read the laboratory safety manual and sign the form indicating that you have read and understood the material contained in the manual. You are required to wear the prescribed safety and hygiene clothing at all lab-based sessions. For the purposes of this requirement, you must wear safe flat, closed in footwear, a long-sleeved chef's jacket, and protective headwear (a hair net). Hair nets will be provided in class.

In addition, substantial computer-based work will be required.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

National Competency Standards for Dietitians in Australia

1.1: Demonstrates safe practice

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1.2: Demonstrates ethical and legal practice

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1.3: Demonstrates leadership

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1.4: Demonstrates management

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1.5: Demonstrates cultural safety and responsiveness

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2.1: Adopts an evidence-based approach to dietetic practice

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2.2: Applies the nutrition care process based on the expectations and priorities of clients

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2.3: Influences food systems to improve the nutritional status of clients

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4.1: Communicates appropriately with people from various cultural, socioeconomic, organisational and professional backgrounds

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4.2: Builds capacity of and collaborates with others to improve nutrition and health outcomes

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4.3: Collaborates within and across teams effectively

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Course Learning Outcomes

XN45 Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours)

1. Apply advanced theoretical, technical and cultural knowledge and skills in food, nutrition and dietetics, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, tailored to respond to a diverse range of contexts and audiences.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
2. Critically analyse and apply evidence-based research and practice to generate informed, client-centred and sustainable solutions to complex current and emerging food, nutrition and dietetic problems.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
3. Communicate and translate complex food and nutrition information effectively, safely and inclusively using a range of oral, written and digital technologies and formats, responsive to the diverse cultural, social and cognitive needs of clients, interdisciplinary teams, stakeholders and the broader community.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
4. Enact inclusive, clinically adept and culturally responsive client-centred practice as a reflective, accountable and ethical professional, working autonomously and collaboratively to manage and lead innovative and entrepreneurial advances in food, nutrition and dietetics.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)

XN90 Master of Nutrition and Dietetics

1. Synthesise and apply specialised theoretical, technical and cultural knowledge and skills in food, nutrition and dietetics, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, curated to respond to a diverse range of contexts and audiences.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
2. Critically analyse, reflect on, and integrate evidence-based research and practice to generate and evaluate creative, informed, client-centred and sustainable solutions to dynamic and complex current and emerging food, nutrition and dietetic problems.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
3. Communicate and justify expert interpretations, translating complex food and nutrition information, theories and frameworks effectively, safely and inclusively using a range of oral, written and digital technologies and formats, responsive to the diverse cultural, social and cognitive needs of clients, interdisciplinary teams, stakeholders and the broader community.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)
4. Enact inclusive, clinically advanced and culturally responsive client-centred practice as a reflective, accountable and ethical professional, working independently and collaboratively to initiate, lead and manage innovative and entrepreneurial investigations and advances in food, nutrition and dietetics.
   Relates to: Clinical Reasoning in Dietetics Case Studies, Examination (Practical)