Learning to Lead: A Multi-Faceted Study of Leadership Skills Development and Use by Dietitians
Creators: name: Hermosura, Billie Jane
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2022
Subjects: Leadership development
Health professions
Competency-based education
LEADS Framework

description: Leadership in the health sector continues to be recognized as a key factor in improving healthcare and is considered part of professional competence in health professions. In dietetics, the Integrated Competencies of Dietetic Education and Practice, a document which informs dietetic education and professional development in Canada, was recently revised to include leadership as part of a new competency domain. But with limited research on dietetic leadership, it is challenging to develop and assess leadership skills in dietetic trainees and dietitians. My thesis addresses this gap by exploring how leadership is currently developed and used in practice through a three-phase qualitative design. The theoretical framework and conceptual model was pulled from complexity theory, leadership theory as well as feminist theory. The LEADS in a Caring Environment framework was used as the specific leadership framework. It is recognized as a comprehensive model for leadership in healthcare designed to embody the key skills, behaviours, abilities, and knowledge required to lead in all sectors and types of organizations. A multi-phase qualitative study was conducted, which included documentary analysis, one-on-one interviews with dietitians, and focus group interviews with dietetic educators. The methodology aligned with complexity science where interactions within and between the individual, micro-, meso-, and macro- levels were considered throughout the study. Furthermore, issues related to gender and other forms of diversity as crosscutting influences were considered. To inform this research, an expert committee comprised of dietitians from different practice areas was involved. Phase I included a documentary analysis of program documents and one focus group with dietetic educators to elaborate on their programs. In Phase II, using a multi-case study methodology, dietitians’ leadership skills development and use in practice were identified. Finally, Phase III focused on determining actions and implications of my research findings from Phases I and II through three focus groups with dietetic educators. The findings showed that dietitians tend to describe leadership in relation to having a formal management role. My study found that leadership skills have not been explicitly taught through dietetic education, but some are developed through transferrable skills that can be useful in leadership. The findings also demonstrated that dietitians use leadership skills in a variety of ways and contexts throughout their careers. All four cohorts provided personal examples of their leadership skills in practice that aligned with each of the LEADS domains and most of the capabilities. This might suggest that although dietitians were not formally taught leadership skills through their dietetic education, there is evidence that they possess and use leadership in their different practice areas throughout the career trajectory. This research furthers the scholarship on leadership development in dietetics and considers the complexities of leadership in a highly gendered system.