title: A study of the clinical role of the dietitian as viewed by allied health professionals.
abstract: This study was designed to determine, among a sample of hospital administrators and directors of medicine and nursing, expectations and perceptions of the clinical role of dietitians employed in their hospitals. Data were collected by a mail questionnaire, consisting of an inventory of 40 clinical dietetics activities, developed in previous research on dietitians' role expectations and performance. Results indicated that respondents viewed the majority of inventory items as congruent with their expectations of the dietitians' ideal role. However, dietitians were perceived as not performing a role consistent with respondents' expectations. Activities related to the professional development, education, and research role of dietitians yielded higher disparity than did activities related to the provision of nutritional care. Interpretation of these findings and comparison with results of the dietitians' survey provide a basis for identifying sources of role conflict and ambiguity among the dietitians and allied professionals surveyed.
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D001955:British Columbia; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D004046:Dietetics; D006801:Humans; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D010348:Patient Care Team