More than 1000 delegates attended the 33rd DAA National Conference in Melbourne last month and helped celebrate DAA turning 40. Titled “On Track for the Future” Flinders University Nutrition & Dietetic staff (Dr Alison Yaxley, Dr Carly Moores, Louisa Matwiejczyk, Olivia Farrer , Lisa Harley (clinical tutor at RAH)) and new graduates Nicola Wright and Michelle Gan delivered five oral presentations and four posters profiling our research and teaching, work with the Maggie Beer Foundation in Aged Care, and results from the evaluation of PEACH™ Queensland facilitator training and program delivery. Research presented by Departmental PhD candidate Olivia Farrer on “The role of Dietitians in residential aged care as perceived by chefs – How are we contributing to best practice food service?” was highly commended when considered for the Best Poster Award.
Andrew Slattery, Head of Department at RGH, also presented on work co-authored by NUTD Honours student Clarissa Tang. The conference was a great opportunity to network and catch up with colleagues, including many from SA and some who have moved interstate from SA. It was also pleasing to see a number of our students, including some of our International students from Singapore, attend their very first dietetic conference and be part of the professional community.
Prior to the conference, Louisa Matwiejczyk, Amanda Wray, Lisa Harley and Alison Yaxley attended workshops organised by Monash and Deakin University for dietetic educators. The topic was the new DAA competencies and dietitians shared approaches which are being trialled. Watch out for more in SA following these workshops!
Other workshops which were particularly useful were: working with the media with practical tips on how to respond, cultural responsiveness facilitated by Indigenous members of the Indigenous Allied Health Association, using GRADE to evaluate the evidence, measuring dietary intake using technology, and using mobile devices for dietary interventions in pregnancy/early childhood. Overall, the conference generated some great conversations and all of us have come back to Adelaide with some new ideas to try and knowledge to share. Save the date for next year’s conference in Hobart 18 – 20 May 2017.
Visit our Facebook page for photos from the conference and you can view conference posters .
