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Certificate in Paediatric Nutrition and Dietetics

The Department of Nutrition and Food Services at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne began a Certificate in Paediatric Nutrition and Dietetics in 1997. This highly regarded course is exclusively for qualified dietitians, with the course content targeted to meet the training needs and learning outcomes for Paediatric Dietitians. 

Entry criteria

University entry criteria apply. Candidates must hold a graduate or post graduate qualification in Dietetics. Evidence of qualifications must be provided.

Successful completion of Unit 1 is required to proceed to Unit 2.  It is not possible to complete Unit 2 prior to Unit 1. However, Dietitians with 3+ years' experience in paediatric dietetics may apply to complete Unit 2 only.

Dates

The course runs within a financial year i.e. July - June. 

2024

• Unit 1: Monday 16th-Thursday 19^th September 2024, and will run in a face-to-face format at RCH. This will only be offered in face-to-face mode to improve participant experience and better enable networking opportunities for participants. It will likely also include a hospital tour and networking drinks one evening.

2025

• Unit 2: Date will be confirmed end of year, likely May
• Unit 1: Date will be confirmed end of year, likely September

Contact hours 

Two Units will be held in blocks of 4 days (Monday-Thursday). Each unit provides approximately 24 contact hours with additional non-contact hours required to complete assessment tasks.  

Venue 

The Unit 1 component will run onsite at RCH in 2024. Unit 2 2024 will likely be onsite (tbc). 

Soft-copies of slides will be provided prior to the course start date where possible.

Our plan ongoing is to alternate the Paediatric Nutrition Couse each year between online and face-to-face formats to accommodate all learning preferences. 

Assessment

Assessment for both units is by a written online examination (multiple choice questions and short answer questions) to be completed following each of the units.

Participants pass the examination to receive a certificate of completion.

NB:  Completion of Unit 1 and 2 does not render participants experienced, paediatric dietitians. Within the realms of the two units, it is only possible to provide the theoretical background on which future practice can be based.  Following the course, it is the responsibility of each participant to keep their knowledge regarding paediatric nutrition updated.

Registration

In order to register you will need to create an account on the RCH online learning platform, please follow the instructions once you have clicked on the below link.

Unit 1 2024: CLOSED - SOLD OUT

Price

$950 per unit (excluding GST)

Refunds

As per the Royal Children's Hospital Online Learning Platform:

a) Requests for refunds must be made in writing and should be emailed to the course administrator

b) The below table outlines when learners can request a refund and the % refund.  Please note the 1.5% card-processing fee included in the course fee is non-refundable. 

Course Information:

Unit 1 Nutrition and Child Health 

On successful completion of this unit participants will:

• Be competent in assessment of nutritional status, growth and nutritional requirements of infants, children and adolescents.
• Understand the aetiology of common nutrition-related diseases, which have their origins in childhood.
• Be competent to provide the nutritional requirements of infants, children and adolescents across common nutrition related disorders. 
• Understand and apply current research findings to the care of paediatric patients.

Unit 1 Topics

General Paediatrics:

• Growth and nutritional assessment
• Breastfeeding and introduction of solids
• Infant formula - new developments and manipulations to meet altered requirements.
• Toddler nutrition and fussy eating
• Workshops on growth and energy requirements from infancy through to adolescents

Specific Nutrition Problems

• Common childhood disorders requiring nutritional intervention such as growth faltering and iron deficiency.
• Management of common infant gastrointestinal disorders: constipation, colic, reflux and gastroenteritis.
• Feeding difficulties including practical aspects of feeding children with a disability
• Enteral feeding
• Dietary management of IgE-mediated allergy

Community Nutrition Topics

• Paediatric public health issues e.g. childhood obesity
• Communicating with children and adolescents
• NDIS

Unit 2: Clinical Paediatric Dietetics

On successful completion of this unit participants will:

• Be competent in the nutritional and dietary assessment of infants, children and adolescents with a range of acute and chronic diseases.
• Have a detailed understanding of nutritional management and dietary therapy in children with acute and chronic diseases.
• Be able to plan, implement and evaluate nutritional interventions, including dietary manipulation and artificial nutrition support measures.
• Understand and apply current research findings to the care of paediatric patients.

Unit 2 Topics:            

Unit 2 focuses on clinical conditions common in paediatrics. Lectures and workshops are disease specific and include an overview of the condition, nutritional assessment, estimating nutritional requirements and management. 

• Topics include diabetes, renal disease, oncology, liver disorders, GI disorders, neonates, eating disorders, congenital heart disease, ketogenic diets for epilepsy, parenteral nutrition, intestinal failure, cystic fibrosis, non-IgE mediated food allergy, inborn errors of metabolism and PICU

Dietitian Professional Development Day 2024

Opportunities for updating and maintaining skills in the area of paediatric nutrition are limited. This professional development day provides an update across a range of topics of interest to both community and clinical dietitians.

Who should attend?
Dietitians working in clinical, community or private practice settings seeking to develop or update skills in providing nutrition services for children and adolescents.
The program is suitable for dietitians looking for an update after completing the Certificate in Paediatric Nutrition and Dietetics at The Royal Children’s Hospital as well as those with an interest in paediatric nutrition.

Course Information:

Date: Thursday 28th November 2024

Time: 8.30am-4.30pm 

Mode: Hybrid.

Venue: In Person - Ella Latham Theatre at RCH

             Online via Zoom

Program: A copy of the program is available here. Subject to change based on speaker availability.

Price: 

In person - $253 including GST (excludes credit card surcharge and TryBooking fees). This includes morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and attendance certificate

Online - $198 including GST. Credit card surcharge extra. This includes the Zoom link only for online viewing on the day.

Soft copies of the presentations will be emailed to all participants prior to the day where possible.

Registration: Click here to access via TryBooking 

Refunds:

a) Requests for refunds must be made in writing and should be emailed to the course administrator

b) The below table outlines when learners can request a refund and the % refund.  Please note card-processing fees are non-refundable. 

Nursing Education Day 2025

Nurses play a key role in monitoring children’s growth and development and supporting families.  With so many areas to address keeping up to date and ensuring practice is evidence based can be challenging.  This symposium provides a unique opportunity to update knowledge on a range of nutrition related topics in a one-day program. 

Who should attend?
Maternal and Child Health Nurses – including students or those wishing to increase knowledge and skills, Community Nurses and Allied Health Professionals with an interest in early child nutrition, health and development. 

Course Information:

TBC for 2025

For queries regarding the above courses please contact nutrition.education@rch.org.au