NSW Public-Hospital Dietitians and Their Workplace: True Love or a Marriage of Convenience?

This study examines how NSW public-hospital dietitians are affected by their workplace. Hospitals have undergone rapid changes over the last 50 years and 43% of the dietetic workforce is located within this environment. Three different approaches were used to examine this topic: a direct overt observational study; a cross-sectional NSW wide survey; and in-depth interviews. The major findings were: the majority of tasks undertaken by the hospital dietitian occurred away from the patient; there were low to moderate levels of burnout experienced by dietitians, but level or years of experience and the type of hospital affected burnout levels. Dietitians sought validation from their workplace from five sources: knowledge acquisition, relationships, culture, role clarity and self-attributes. The conclusion was the ‘marriage’ between dietitians and the workplace is initially based on true love, but the success of the union relies on an ongoing commitment, compromise and adaptation.