NHSE (formerly Health Education England (HEE)), with support from the BDA, have produced a Roadmap to Practice for first contact dietitians in primary care. It includes a set of capabilities to ensure safety and consistency for first contact dietitians in primary care.
The list of education and training courses outlined below include the core modules which are recommended for those working in Primary Care in England. There are also other courses suggested by the BDA which may support dietitians to meet some of the capabilities outlined in the roadmap. HCPC outline the requirement for continuing professional development in their webpages.
The table below provides an overview of the training and education available to support these roles.
| Core modules for First Contact Practitioners* |
Core modules recommended for all dietitians working in primary care including: |
| Additional modules to support First Contact Dietitians |
Additional modules that may be relevant and useful to First Contact Dietitians include but are not limited to:
These can be found on the eLearning for health website. |
| Additional masters modules to support First Contact Dietitians |
Additional masters modules the BDA recommend that would be relevant and useful to First Contact Dietitians include:
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Other available education and training:
| Course | Cost | Comments |
| Musculoskeletal primary care programme*: | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here |
This was developed for MSK but the majority of the content is relevant to multi-professions. Each section takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete. Content includes:
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| Personalised Care Institute* | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here |
Includes:
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Additional modules to support First contact dietitians. The BDA highly recommend those marked with a *.
| Course | Cost | Comments |
| Person Centred Approaches* (includes 11 sessions) | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here | Will help ensure a holistic approach to care and increase awareness of wider community services available to support /signpost people to in their own environments. Takes around 5 hours to complete. |
| MindEd – Suicide and Self Harm Prevention* | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here | Comprehensive guide on identifying at risk patients with suggestions and verbal prompts to support the healthcare professional. |
| Non-medical prescribing course* | Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. Access a list of courses approved by the HCPC here. | The course you choose will need to be accredited for dietitians – check this with the course providers. |
| Advanced clinical assessment module* | Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. | There are various providers of these modules. You will find their learning outcomes online and will need to consider which course best suits your needs. You may wish to consider a course which includes holistic history taking assessment, physical examination, and interpretation of diagnostic data. |
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First Contact Practice module* |
Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. | There are various providers of these modules. Ensure the course is multi-professional and consider which course best suits your needs. |
| Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. | Toolkit with useful resources to support a preventative approach to healthcare. | |
| All Our Health | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. | 27 modules back background information on a range of topics including obesity, CVD and falls. |
| Making Every Contact Count (MECC) | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. | Gives details on how and why to conduct effective conversations to promote healthy living. |
| Introduction to mindfulness | Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. | Provides an understanding of how mindfulness can support the people you’re working with. |
| Fairhealth - tackling health inequity | Free to anyone who registers. | Various free courses available to help reduce inequalities. |
| Beat eating disorders | Free | Training for clinicians working in Primary Care to spot the signs of an eating disorder. |
Additional resources to support First Contact Dietitians. The BDA highly recommend those marked with a *.
| Resource | Cost | Comments |
| NICE: Clinical Knowledge Summaries* |
Free, some CKS examples: |
Summary of the evidence base and practical guidance on common and significant presentations in primary care. Each CKS provides information on diagnosis (including assessment and differential diagnosis), management, prescribing, background (including definition, causes, prevalence and prognosis). |
Currently, it is considered that the following areas would be feasible for Dietitians to develop enhanced skills to support patient care within primary care:
- Frailty
- Overweight and Obesity
- Diabetes
- Gastroenterology
- Paediatrics
The training needs of each of these areas have been reviewed with input from the BDA specialist groups. In practice, a PCN may require skills in more than one of these areas. Dietitians working with undifferentiated diagnosis in paediatric populations must have relevant masters level training and education in the management of nutrition and dietetic practice in paediatrics. The BDA highly recommend those marked with a *.
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Course |
Cost |
Comments |
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Frailty |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Includes the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and the Clinical Frailty Score |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Useful background information |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Provides as understanding of patients and their carers’ needs. |
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The Lived Experience of Dementia
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Focuses on patient centred approach |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Covers various aspects of care for older people |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
9 modules providing an overview on topics such as advance care planning and bereavement |
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Overweight and obesity |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Provides a strategic view of weight management. |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Content likely to be familiar to those who have supported people with obesity. Some useful statistics. |
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Some courses are free, some include a small fee. Register here. |
Courses include “When is surgical treatment for obesity appropriate?” and “Covid and Obesity” |
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Diabetes |
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Many healthcare staff working in the UK are eligible for free, if not, cost is £25 for 12 months. Register here.
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Competency-based online diabetes training. |
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Free, register here. |
Short course for healthcare professionals who do not work in diabetes. |
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Free, register here. |
Focusses on the wellbeing of the patient |
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BDA: Dietetic Practice in Diabetes* |
course fees apply |
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Gastroenterology |
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Telephone Assessment for colorectal STT*
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Covers the range of lower GI symptoms and highlights the red flags for escalation |
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BDA: A Low FODMAP Diet for IBS* |
course fees apply |
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Masters in Allergy |
Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. |
There are various providers of these courses. You will find their learning outcomes online and will need to consider which course best suits your needs |
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Paediatrics |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Comprehensive module on breast feeding |
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Physical assessment and clinical reasoning of the presenting child* |
Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. |
There are various providers of these modules. You will find their learning outcomes online and will need to consider which course best suits your needs. |
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Access fee structure and more information here. |
Modules include information on nutrition and dietetics in: infancy and childhood and common paediatric disorders, as well as clinical dietetics for infants and children |
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MindEd – Eating Behaviours, body image and feeding problems
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Covers eating behaviours in children and young people |
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Masters in Allergy |
Course fees. If working in England, speak to your local primary care training hub for advice on accessing funding for this. |
There are various providers of these courses. You will find their learning outcomes online and will need to consider which course best suits your needs |
Additional modules to support dietitians working towards advanced practice level:
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Training |
Cost |
Comments |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
Structured guide on how to redesign services in an innovative way. |
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Free to anyone with an NHS email address. Register here. |
This is a 20-minute introduction to the subject. |
This is not an exhaustive list but includes some websites you may find useful: