Research & Education

Education programmes for Health Care Professions

The Department provides many education and training programme for nursing staff, doctors and other members of the multidisciplinary team in all aspects of nutrition. Both formal training, in the form of study days and courses, and informal training at journal club meetings and at ward based tutorials are provided. Nutrition programmes which include the practical aspect of managing patients on special diets are also provided for the staff in the Catering & Patient Food Services Department.

The Dietitians also participate in courses and study days run by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI). See www.indi.ie

BSc. Human Nutrition & Dietetics Practice Training

The Department provides clinical training/practice placements for students of the BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics four year programme at Trinity College Dublin & Dublin Institute of Technology. Senior dietitians are assigned to the teaching, supervision and evaluation of the student’s practice to ensure that they are competent to practice by the end of their programme.

Work experience

All requests for work experience are processed through the Hospital Centre for Learning and Development, which runs an information programme for students who wish to learn about many different health professions. The Dietitians participate in this programme

For more information about this work experience see the following link

Centre for Learning and Development

For further information about how to become a dietitian have a look at the INDI website
https://www.indi.ie/what-is-a-dietitian/how-do-i-become-a-dietitian.html

Audit and Research

Active participation by the Dietetic staff in audit and research is encouraged and supported. As result, many staff members have published in peer reviewed journals and/or presented their nationally and internationally.

Current Research and Audit Activity

  • Audit of enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition support use and practices across the hospital
  • Research project on Malnutrition in cancer
  • Protected Mealtime Audit
  • Research on the levels of physical activity and its impact on glycaemic control in adults with Type 1 diabetes
  • Charting of Oral Nutritional Supplements Audit

Publications

Assessing appropriateness of parenteral nutrition usage in an acute hospital

Journal of Clinical Practice
N. Smyth, E Neary, S Power, S Feehan, S Duggan

Patients with chronic pancreatitis are at increased risk of osteoporosis.

Pancreas 2012
Duggan SN, O'Sullivan M, Feehan S, Hamilton S, Ridgway PF, Conlon KC.

A transatlantic survey of nutrition practice in acute pancreatitis

J Human Nutrition Dietetics 2012
Duggan SN, Smyth ND, O'Sullivan M, Feehan S, Ridgway PF, Conlon KC.

Nutrition treatment of deficiency and malnutrition in chronic pancreatitis: a review.
Nutrition in Clinical Practice 2010 Aug;25(4):362-70.
Duggan S, O'Sullivan M, Feehan S, Ridgway P, Conlon K.

Blind bedside insertion of small bowel feeding tubes.
Ir J Med Sci. 2009 May 9.
Sinead Duggan, Niamh Smyth, Suzanne Egan, Sinead Feehan, Kevin Conlon.

An assessment of the validity of enteral aspirate pH measurements made with commercial pH strips. e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Volume 3, Issue 6, December 2008, Pages e303-e308
Sinead N. Duggan, Niamh D. Smyth, Suzanne M. Egan, Marie Roddy, Kevin C. Conlon.
Nutritional status of elderly trauma patients presenting to a South Dublin
Teaching Hospital
European Geriatric medicine (2010) 325-329
LN. Banks, N. Byrne, S. Henari, S. Morris, JP. McElwain