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Practical Nutritional Assessment for Enhanced Practice (Adults) in all settings.

Practical Nutritional Assessment for Enhanced Practice (Adults) in all settings

Aim

This course is aimed at dietitians at entry and enhanced level of practice. Upon completing the course, attendees will understand how to conduct a more detailed nutritional assessment using relevant physical and functional assessments and demonstrate their application in dietetic practice.

Assessments explored during the course include:

  • GLIM criteria
  • Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)
  • Hand dynamometry
  • Anthropometry
  • Basic observations (temperature, blood pressure and pulse)
  • Functional assessments (sit to stand and timed up and go)

To get the most out of this course, we advise that participants have consolidated their dietetic practice through at least 18 months of post-registration experience.

Why has the course been developed?

Modern dietetic practice increasingly requires the use of physical and functional assessment to support clinical decision-making, enhance nutritional diagnosis and provide measurable outcomes. As the profession evolves to meet the demands of increasingly complex care, these skills are becoming essential for dietitians working across a variety of health and care settings at all  levels of practice.

This course has been developed to provide dietitians with the knowledge, skills and confidence to undertake detailed nutritional assessment using recognised physical and functional assessment techniques. Through a combination of theory, practical workshops and case-based learning, participants will learn how to apply these assessments safely and effectively within dietetic practice.

The course provides a supportive, hands-on environment in which participants can develop practical skills, embed learning through clinical discussion and strengthen their ability to demonstrate the impact of dietetic interventions through meaningful outcome measures.

Why should you sign up for this course?

Would you like to strengthen your assessment skills and gain greater confidence in measuring the impact of your dietetic interventions?

This course will help you elevate your practice by developing practical assessment skills that support improved clinical decision-making, robust outcome measurement and patient care.

By attending, you will develop the skills needed to:

  • Undertake physical and functional assessments confidently within dietetic consultations.
  • Improve identification and assessment of malnutrition, sarcopenia and complex nutritional issues.
  • Use recognised assessment frameworks including GLIM and SGA.
  • Strengthen clinical reasoning and dietetic decision-making through objective outcome measures.
  • Recognise signs of clinical deterioration and understand appropriate escalation pathways.
  • Demonstrate the value and impact of dietetic interventions through measurable outcomes.

Who is the target audience?

This course is suitable for entry and enhanced level dietitians working with adults across all healthcare settings who are looking to incorporate functional and physical assessment into their practice.

It may be particularly beneficial for dietitians wishing to:

  • Collect more robust clinical outcome measures.
  • Develop enhanced assessment skills.
  • Strengthen clinical decision-making.
  • Consider progression towards non-medical prescribing pathways.

To maximise benefit from the practical content, attendees should ideally have a minimum of 18 months' post-registration dietetic experience.

What can attendees expect from the course?

This course has been carefully designed to maximise hands-on practical learning and skill development.

Delivered over two consecutive face-to-face days at the BDA offices in Birmingham, participants will have extensive opportunities to practise assessment techniques, develop confidence in their application and receive feedback from experienced facilitators.

The course includes:

  • Interactive teaching sessions.
  • Practical workshops and supervised skills practice.
  • Physical and functional assessment demonstrations.
  • Case-based learning and discussion.
  • Opportunities to apply learning directly to dietetic practice.

Learning Outcomes:

The course will:

  1. Introduce the topic of practical nutritional assessment and its relevance to modern dietetic practice.
  2. Explore physical and functional assessment and its application to modern dietetic practice.
  3. Conduct suitable physical and functional assessments and consider how to embed them into dietetic practice using the model and process. 
  4. Refresh knowledge of anatomy and physiology relevant to physical and functional assessment.
  5. Consider the safety aspects of conducting assessments, such as manual handling.
  6. To be able to identify a clinically deteriorating patient and recognise when and how to escalate.
  7. Be able to evidence change in practice through completion of case-based discussion.

Upcoming dates

This is a two consecutive day in person course based at BDA offices in Birmingham. Due to the hands-on practical aspects, this is not suitable for online attendance.