Biomedical subjects
M C Spears
Publications and source records attributed to M C Spears.
Foodservice education. Preparing the next generation.
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Dietitians as food and nutrition experts.
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Quality delegation grid: a decision tool for evaluating delegation of management tasks in hospital dietetics departments.
This research was designed to determine perceptions of the quality of task performance; identify personnel currently performing selected management and food production tasks in a hospital dietetics department; and develop a grid for examining delegation strategies. Information on task quality and delegation was obtained from 309 dietitians and 208 support personnel in 151 hospitals. This information was used to develop a quality delegation grid. The grid is divided into four quadrants: High Quality/High Delegation; High Quality/Low Delegation; Low Quality/High Delegation; and Low Quality/Low Delegation. The grid was used to evaluate the delegation of management tasks reported by participants in this study. Our results indicated that the majority of tasks were placed in the High Quality/High Delegation quadrant (28 tasks) and the Low Quality/Low Delegation quadrant (17 tasks), suggesting that delegation was appropriate for the quality expected if the task was delegated. Three tasks were placed in the Low Quality/High Delegation quadrant indicating that tasks were delegated even though quality of the completed task was perceived as low when delegated, suggesting that dietitians should have performed these tasks themselves. Four tasks were placed in the High Quality/Low Delegation quadrant indicating that dietitians were performing tasks that were perceived to have high quality when performed by support personnel, yet these tasks were rarely delegated. Foodservice directors could use the grid to identify training needs, differentiate perceptions between dietitians and support personnel, and evaluate current delegation patterns.
Professional attitudes of dietetics students and practitioners.
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for measuring differences in professional attitudes of dietetics students and practitioners. Comparisons were made between junior and senior dietetics students, new and experienced (5 years or more) registered members of The American Dietetic Association (ADA), and registered ADA members and registered nonmembers (individuals who dropped ADA membership). The sample consisted of 371 junior and senior students from 18 coordinated dietetics programs and 1,041 dietetics practitioners. Principal component analysis was used to categorize conceptually 51 professionalism statements into 13 factors identified as professional attitude scales. Mean scores for the two scales "personal obligations for professional development" and "mastery of substantive content" were highest for all three groups; lowest scores were for the scale "professional isolation." Overall, significant differences were found on eight scales for one or more of the comparison groups. Students rated the scale "respect for the profession's intellectual challenge" higher than did new and experienced registered ADA members. Discriminant analysis indicated that junior (70%) and senior students (65%) were successfully differentiated on four scales, new (62%) and experienced (60%) registered ADA members on five scales, and ADA members (70%) and nonmembers (72%) on four scales. Results of this study could be used by educators to support inclusion of concepts of professionalism in dietetics curriculums. Results also could aid practitioners in marketing their knowledge and skills by presenting a more positive professional image to clients.
Delegation of clinical dietetic tasks in military and civilian hospitals: implications for practice.
The purposes of our research were two-fold: to determine perceptions of the quality of task performance and to identify dietetic personnel currently performing clinical dietetic tasks in military and civilian hospitals. Questionnaires were returned from 309 dietitians and 208 dietetic support personnel at 151 military and civilian hospitals (73% response overall). For tasks completed by support personnel, no task was rated as having optimum quality, 1 was rated as highly acceptable, 6 as acceptable, 19 as somewhat unacceptable, and 4 as unacceptable. Current performance ratings indicated that 1 task was performed solely by dietitians, 21 were completed by dietitians with assistance, 6 were completed jointly by dietitians and support personnel, 2 were completed by support personnel with supervision by dietitians, and no task was completed independently by support personnel. Tasks were grouped into four categories: basic clinical dietetics (11 tasks), intermediate and in-depth clinical dietetics (12 tasks), outpatient nutrition clinic (5 tasks), and nutrition education (community) (4 tasks). Quality scores for the US Air Force (USAF) hospitals were higher for all task categories except intermediate and in-depth clinical dietetic tasks. The quality scores of support personnel were higher than those of dietitians for all task categories. The USAF performance scores indicated significantly more involvement of support personnel. Generally, the performance scores of dietitians increased with experience; the scores of support personnel decreased with experience. Correlations between quality and performance ratings for individual tasks revealed low to moderate relationships. Our results suggest that additional delegation of tasks to dietetic support personnel may be possible without negatively affecting perceptions of the quality of task outcome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Comparison of conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze foodservice systems.
Although the conventional system remains the predominant choice for hospital foodservice, alternative systems such as cook-chill and cook-freeze are prevalent as well. Many foodservice directors have reported improvements in operational and financial indicators when switching from a conventional to one of the alternative systems. Objectives for this research included determination of parameters of operating costs in conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze systems and comparison of costs for the three foodservice systems. Operational and financial data were collected for 33 conventional, 22 cook-chill, and 11 cook-freeze hospital foodservice systems. Results indicated little difference among the three systems for most operational and financial variables, suggesting that, in general, managers of conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze systems are employing similar resources to achieve their objectives. The number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) was found to be the strongest predictor of operating costs in all three systems. Data suggest that installation of a ready-food system may not lead to savings in costs.
Activities of coordinated dietetic program directors compared by educational background.
This study was designed to ascertain the activities performed by coordinated program directors, compare current activities with 5-year expectations, and identify differences in importance and time spent on 14 pertinent activities by directors with master's degrees and those with doctorates. Responses were collected by a descriptive survey of 64 directors, all of whom participated. Program directors with master's degrees considered public relations with affiliations, attending faculty meetings, student advisement, and reading professional materials significantly more important (p less than .05) than did directors with doctorates, who considered faculty evaluations and research significantly more important (p less than .01). Directors with doctorates spent significantly less time in teaching (p less than .05) than those with master's degrees. Responsibilities of directors in the 22 submitted descriptions were organized into five categories: program management, curricular affairs, policies impacting on programs, student advisement and counseling, and academic activities. In the ADA Standards of Education, responsibilities of directors include program assessment, planning, and evaluation; in this study, those responsibilities were placed in the program management category. Exhibition of leadership qualities, revision of curriculum, and counseling and recruitment of students were responsibilities most frequently included in the position descriptions; however, those responsibilities were in categories other than program management. The responsibilities could serve as a guide for the development of a position description and as criteria for the role of a coordinated program director.
Efficacy of graduate education in dietetics: influence of role delineation.
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Managerial functions of college and university foodservice managers.
This study examined managerial roles in college and university foodservice at three organizational levels. The study population included foodservice managers at National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) member schools with a minimum annual budget of +3 million. The 999 managers from 80 colleges and universities who participated were categorized into three groups: assistant, associate, or director of foodservice; unit manager; and manager reporting to unit manager. They rated 51 activity statements on importance and time demand. Maintaining standards of quality was rated most important and most time demanding by all three groups of managers. Perceived importance and time demand of activities increased as managerial level increased. Activity statements were categorized into Mintzberg's 10 managerial roles. Significant differences in importance and time demand ratings among the three managerial groups were indicated for all 10 roles. However, perceived importance and time demand of roles increased as managerial level increased with two exceptions. Disturbance handler and leader roles were rated more time consuming by lower level managers.
Noneconomic and economic benefits of continuing education for dietitians.
This research evaluated the expected and actual noneconomic and economic benefits from continuing education as perceived by registered dietitian members of the Kansas Dietetic Association in 1986. A random sample of 180 dietitians was selected from the 550 members of the association; 83.9% of the sample responded to the research questionnaire. Thirteen possible noneconomic or personal benefits and six possible economic or professional benefits were rated on a scale of 1, little or no benefit, to 5, great benefit. The highest ratings on noneconomic benefits were 4.43 expected and 3.95 actual on the benefit of "becoming informed about some subject". On economic benefits, the highest ratings were 4.36 expected and 3.82 actual on "learning recent job knowledge." The overall noneconomic ratings were 2.85 expected and 2.78 actual. On economic benefits, the overall ratings were 3.46 expected and 3.07 actual. Dietitians ranked "expertise of instructors" and "instructor's ability to explain or demonstrate" as the two highest perceived strengths of the continuing education experience. Obviously, the instructor is viewed as an important factor in continuing education. Dietitians rated their degree of participation in continuing experiences in the following descending order: "contributing to the evaluation process", "sharing experiences with others," and "developing goals and ideas."
The effect of organizational level and practice area on managerial work in hospital dietetic services.
All areas of practice in hospital dietetic services include a management component; however, the nature of the managerial role in various areas of dietetic practice has not been identified clearly. The definition of dietetic practice in the Conceptual Framework for the Profession of Dietetics supports the importance of managerial skills. The effect of organizational level and practice area on managerial activities and roles of professional staff in hospital dietetic services was examined in this study. The nationwide sample included professionals in hospitals with 300+ beds. A total of 3,280 dietetic professionals participated. Five groups were defined: low administrative, low clinical, middle administrative, middle clinical, and upper administrative. Mintzberg identified 10 managerial roles and categorized them as interpersonal, informational, or decisional. The 10 roles were used as the basis for developing an 80-item instrument on which respondents rated each item for importance and time demand. Perceived importance of managerial activities tended to be greater at higher organizational levels. The managerial aspects of the lower clinical and upper administrative position were the most clearly defined. The lower clinical group tended to rate all of the managerial roles as significantly less important than did those in other positions; however, the middle clinical position included a substantial managerial responsibility.
Dimensions of managerial work in hospital dietetic services.
The objective of this study was to identify underlying dimensions of the managerial work of hospital dietetic services professional staff. A survey instrument was developed on the basis of Mintzberg's role theory of management. Respondents were asked to rate 80 activity statements on the relative importance and time demand of each. Principal component analysis was used to determine whether items could be conceptualized meaningfully by a smaller number of components capable of accounting for interrelationships. Reliabilities and correlations were computed for the resulting managerial factor scores. Six factors were identified from the importance ratings: Upper Management, Interaction with Subordinates, Outside Activities, Quality Assurance, Communication Activities, and Personnel Activities. Similar dimensions were identified from the time-demand ratings. Findings from this analysis suggest that managers in different functional specialties and at various organizational levels tend to vary in their allocation of time and to stress different roles. As a person rises on the administrative ladder of responsibility, concentration on extramural affairs and involvement in planning are greater, and concern with specific operational problems decreases. The importance of conceptual skills was especially evident in upper administrative positions, as was the critical need for intergroup skills.
Graduate education in food service systems management: clarifying the focus.
Administrators of dietetic services and educators in food service systems management identified levels of education and degree of experience needed to develop competencies in food service systems management. Master's level competencies that emerged from the analysis provide a framework for design and evaluation of graduate programs. Also, the differentiation of bachelor's and master's level competencies should assist in clarifying appropriate program focuses. The data on experience levels indicate performance areas for which the educational institution is primarily responsible and those for which responsibility should be shared by educators and employers.
Dietetic technicians' performance: supervisory and self-assessments.
The performance of dietetic technicians was examined from two perspectives. Supervisors provided evaluation data, and technicians reported priority of various task functions. The survey sample consisted of ADA technician members and graduates of ADA-approved programs. Most of the technicians reported they were functioning in positions requiring backgrounds primarily in nutrition care or with equal emphasis on food service management and nutrition. Few were in positions with a food service management emphasis. Supervisors' ratings indicated the technicians' performance was satisfactory to above average, with general to little or no supervision needed.
Teaching effectiveness in coordinated undergraduate program in dietetics. Assessments of students, graduates, and program directors.
The effect of practitioner experience on teaching effectiveness of faculty in coordinated undergraduate programs in dietetics (CUPs) was studied on the basis of ratings from program directors, students, and program graduates. Instruments to measure teaching effectiveness were developed that contained 36 items common to all teaching situations and 6 each related to teaching in clinical/community dietetics and to food service management. Four dimensions of effective teaching were identified using factor analysis: interpersonal skill, dietetic expertise, organizational focus, and clinical or practical orientation. Extensive practitioner experience did not contribute to teaching effectiveness.
Role differentiation of dietitians and dietetic technicians.
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Critical incident evaluations in the clinical component of a CUP: student self-assessment and instructors' ratings: a comparison.
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