Students looking to enter the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition program must have an interest in nutrition and a desire to support the health and wellness of individuals, groups, and populations. They must demonstrate empathy, compassion, integrity, and concern for others. Students must have the cognitive abilities to understand, develop, and apply the theoretical knowledge and technical expertise to work collaboratively as part of a team with their peers, clients, and colleagues. Students must have the capacity to develop leadership, management, and supervisory skills. They must be willing to comply with the standards and requirements set by the program and the profession of dietetics to ensure patient safety (e.g., criminal record checks, immunizations, federal and provincial laws and regulations).

Students must have the capacity and desire to develop the high level of professionalism expected in the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition program and the profession of dietetics. This means having a strong work ethic, developing and maintaining a professional image and attitude, appropriate interpersonal skills and understanding professional boundaries. They must be non-judgmental and respectful of individuality and diversity in patients, clients, colleagues, and communities. They must also be able to creatively problem solve, to manage multiple, competing demands, be adaptable, and confident in their decision-making. They must have the ability to reflect on their own performance, receive and provide constructive feedback and demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning and development.

Students must be able to participate in learning situations that require skill in gathering and remembering information about a patient, a client, a group, an organization, a community, or the population in the course of an assessment. This information is normally acquired through observing, listening, talking to others and by gathering information from charts, reports, the scientific literature, and other written material. The student must be able to observe a patient and acquire visual, auditory, and tactile information.

In all situations, the student must be able to gather information using various assessment tools. They must also be able to assess food items using visual, olfactory, taste and tactile senses. The student must be able to function in an environment that may be crowded or noisy, or that has the potential for exposure to disease and which may contain noxious odours.

Students who have sensory limitations (e.g., in vision, hearing, touch and taste) or in perceptual

Students must be able to speak to, hear and observe (aided or unaided) patients, clients, colleagues, healthcare professionals and others in order to effectively and efficiently elicit information, describe mood, activity, and perceive non-verbal communication. Students must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, families, clients, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals, in small and large groups, and to maintain confidentiality.

In the clinical setting, students must be able to coherently and systematically summarize a patient’s condition and care plan, both orally and in text (handwritten or electronic) to comply with regulatory and organizational record-keeping standards.

In all settings, students must be able to write business letters and emails, reports, proposals, and other print sources (handouts, manuals, posters, displays) in a professional manner with coherence and organization.

Students with less than full fluency in English or with learning disabilities are responsible for achieving the same high level of communication ability that is required for patient safety, informed consent, and fully independent and ethical interaction with patients, clients, colleagues, healthcare professionals and others. Students should note that the level of communication fluency required, both oral and written, is often higher than is generally assessed in standard tests of language fluency.

Students must demonstrate the cognitive skills and memory necessary to measure, calculate, and reason in order to analyze, synthesize, and integrate/apply information. They must have the capacity to be able to understand and use complex medical, scientific, and technical information. Students must be able to accurately recognize numbers and perform relevant calculations. These comprehensive problem-solving activities must be done in an acceptable timeframe relative to their peers; proficiency in practice is determined both by accuracy and by completion of tasks within specified time frames. Students also need to be able to demonstrate the ability to accurately assess their performance to further direct their learning by engaging in self-reflection.

Effective problem solving and judgment are necessary to address patient, client, community, or public needs, and engage them in a safe and efficient manner. Students must have critical appraisal skills in order to build a foundation for evidence-based practice. Students must demonstrate these critical thinking skills in their course work at the University, at the practicum training site, and in the work environment.

Students must demonstrate sufficient motor function to safely perform some aspects of physical examination on a patient (e.g., anthropometric measurements). The examination must be done independently and in a timely fashion.

Students are expected to have the energy to be able to participate in all learning experiences of the educational program (e.g., attend classes, complete clinical skills or laboratory work) and therefore should be able to bend, reach, use their hands, and sit and/or stand or walk for most of the day. They also must be able to demonstrate appropriate tools and techniques to a patient (e.g., how to read a nutrition fact label, how to use a scale, how to inject insulin).

Students must consistently demonstrate the mental health and wellness required for full use of their intellectual abilities, in the context of the physical, emotional, and mental demands of the program. Students must demonstrate adaptability to changing environments and the ability to function and respond effectively in situations of high stress and potential conflict. They must be comfortable working in close proximity with colleagues and clients. The development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients, families, colleagues, and others is also required. Students must consistently demonstrate the resilience and balance and balance to manage a myriad of emotionally charged or ethically challenging scenarios that frequently arise in all work settings.

^{Originally adapted with permission from Essential Skills and Attributes Required for the Study of Physical Therapy at the University of Saskatchewan, October 1, 2010. Originally approved by the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition Faculty November 23, 2011.}

^{Revised October 2022, and approved by the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Division of Nutrition, October 13, 2022.}