Preprofessional Identity of Nutrition and Dietetics Students in Australia

Objective: This study aimed to explore the preprofessional identity of undergraduate nutrition and dietetic students to guide curriculum development to better support the expectations of students and promote career readiness in a changing profession. Design: Qualitative focus group discussions in March, 2021. Setting: An Australian university. Participants: First-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nutrition (n = 50) or Bachelor of Dietetics (n = 58) at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Main Outcome Measures: Student sociodemographics, motivations for and inﬂuences on career choice and preprofessional identity, expectations of professional competency and practice, degree, and career expectations. Analysis: Descriptive statistics were conducted, and focus group discussions were analyzed using the Framework Approach. Results: Motivations and skills were consistent across both cohorts, centering on an interest in nutrition and respectful, professional conduct and communication. Expectations were similar across both degrees, with a focus on placement, real-world learning experiences, and staff support. Career expectations for both cohorts included business ownership. Conclusions and Implications: This research provided an understanding of students’ preprofessional identity, which was similar for both nutrition and dietetics students. Motivations identiﬁed in this research can be used to inform activities across nutrition and dietetic programs that support career readiness.


INTRODUCTION
Graduate employability is an increasing focus of the Australian tertiary sector, with most Australian Universities establishing and promoting graduate attributes to guide program and course design, teaching practices, and the intended learning experience.Universities are also encouraged to develop practi-ceÀbased pedagogical curricula that prepare graduates for the professional workforce. 1These curricula commonly focus on learning professional roles, understanding workplace cultures, commencing the professional socialization process, and educating toward citizenship, which are all linked to the development of professional identities. 2 Although no consistent definition of professional identity exists, it is commonly theorized that the development of professional identity centers on a graduate's experiences in the workforce rather than the university setting. 3Gibbs et al 4 found 3 common themes across definitions of professional identity, which included self-labeling as a professional, integration of skills and attitudes as a professional, and perceptions of the context in the professional community.
The awareness of and connection with the skills, qualities, behaviors, values, and standards of a student's chosen profession, as well as one's understanding of the professional self in relation to the broader general self, is defined as preprofessional identity.It is an important but underexplored aspect of graduate employability that can influence academic success, well-being, and productivity through enhanced self-awareness. 5urthermore, preprofessional identity and development of professional identity can influence professional competency development. 6reprofessional identity is of interest in nutrition science and dietetics degrees, where limited research has been undertaken in the field of dietetics, and no research has been conducted in nutrition science degrees.The interaction between preprofessional identity and the development of professional competency is also something to consider with dietetic degrees guided by national accreditation bodies and competency standards, 7−11 and the development of nutrition competency standards is a growing trend within the nutrition profession. 12Competency standards describe the skills and abilities required of the workforce, which guide curricula supporting the preparation of graduates for the workforce 12 Nutrition and dietetic professions are similar and often intertwined, with the attainment of a dietetic degree commonly allowing practitioners across the world to register as both a dietitian and nutritionist.The International Confederation of Dietetic Associations defines a dietitian-nutritionist as a professional who applies the science of food and nutrition to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and optimize the health of individuals, groups, communities, and populations. 13lthough the definition and function of a nutritionist vary across the world, primarily because of a lack of regulation of the title nutritionist, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, nutritionists can apply for registration. 12Here, the role of a nutritionist is defined as providing scientific, evidence-based information on food and healthy eating to individuals or the larger public outside of a hospital setting. 14The Nutrition Society of Australia also provides voluntary registration and defines a nutritionist as a person who provides advice on matters relating to food and how it impacts health. 15The commonly stated difference between the 2 professions internationally is the provision of medical nutrition therapy within a hospital setting, which is defined as the role of a dietitian and sits outside the scope of practice of a nutritionist.
In 2005, Hughes and Desbrow 16 conducted a qualitative study to explore the attitudes, expectations, and career plans of aspiring dietetic students and found the most common motivations for becoming a dietitian included a long-term interest in nutrition, health and helping people, previous experience with dietitians, family or personal illnesses. 16High-level communication and organization skills and nutrition knowledge were the common skills aspiring dietitians perceived they required to enter the workforce.
However, since the publication of this work, significant advancements in science and technology have occurred.Career opportunities in both nutrition and dietetic pathways have evolved from traditional roles in health care, food industry, research, and nutrition education to new roles in media and retail. 17,18his is evidenced in the reimagining of career pathways by the Australian and New Zealand Nutrition and Dietetic Profession, which predicts future roles such as food aficionados, diet optimizers, knowledge translators, equity champions, systems navigators and food systems activists, change-makers, activists, and disruptors. 19A suitably prepared and qualified nutrition and dietetics workforce is essential to equip the evolving profession to combat the burden of chronic disease associated with unhealthy dietary intakes. 12urthermore, the marketization of university degrees, which has seen students adopt a consumer identity and hold inflated expectations of higher education institutions, 20−22 means that student preprofessional identity is an important consideration in nutrition and dietetic education.
Therefore, this research aimed to qualitatively explore the perceptions of first-year undergraduate nutrition and dietetic students to elucidate (1) their sense of preprofessional identity and (2) how this differs between students enrolled in an undergraduate nutrition and undergraduate dietetic degree.This work will inform activities across degrees that better support the development of preprofessional identity and align with career readiness in a changing profession.

Study Design
A qualitative study design was employed, using focus group discussions.This study was embedded in social constructivism, whereby meaning was viewed as being socially constructed through the experiences of participants and the researchers. 23he project underwent a full ethical board review by the University of the Sunshine Coast Human Research Ethics Committee (project ID: A211531), and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.This research was conducted by 4 academics who work across both nutrition science and dietetic degrees: A dietitian and coordinator of work-integrated learning for both nutrition and dietetic degrees, a nutritionist and lecturer into the nutrition and dietetic degrees, a dietitian and coordinator of the introductory dietetics subject, and a public health nutritionist (formally trained as a dietitian), program leader for the Bachelor of Nutrition and coordinator of the introductory nutrition subject.
The authors adopted team reflexivity approaches 24 to help expose differing perspectives and uncover how their prior experiences may influence research processes.

Participants and Recruitment
This study was conducted at a regional Australian university with well-established (> 10 years) undergraduate programs in nutrition science and dietetics.Sampling for the present study included all first-year students who were enrolled in the Bachelor of Nutrition (n = 49) or Bachelor of Dietetics (n = 58).Participants were eligible if they were in the first year of their degree and were enrolled in the introductory nutrition or dietetics subject.Recruitment occurred in the first week of the study year through in-class and online announcements inviting students to participate in an online survey and group discussion as part of week 2 class activities.No incentive was offered for participation, and students were advised that participation was voluntary and would have no impact on grades or relationships within the university.

Instruments
Student demographics were obtained via an online quantitative survey.Information was gathered to identify participants' age, sex, country of birth, indigeneity, living situation, employment, and if they, or anyone else in their family, had previously attended university or completed tertiary qualifications.Response options for sex included male, female, and unspecified, and to understand indigeneity, participants were asked if they identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, both or neither.
A series of semistructured interview questions were designed by the research team to guide focus group discussions.Questions were based on inquiry logic and adapted from Hughes and Desbrow 16 (Table 1).Before administration, items were reviewed by fourth-year dietetic students and 3 academic staff.Open-ended questions aimed to explore students' lived experiences relating to their preprofessional identity and their expectations and decision making regarding their choice of degree.The authors communicated that prompting questions should be added to the protocol as the discussions progressed, but the question order remained the same for all focus group discussions to maintain the same line of inquiry.

Procedures
The demographic survey was distributed online through Qualtrics (Version Febuary 2021, copyright 2020, Qualtrics) alongside the focus groups between March and August, 2021.
Focus groups stimulate participants to express their views and opinions to gather unique subjective perspectives. 23Focus group discussions were held during the second week of the study year during class time for the introductory nutrition and dietetic courses.Four group discussions were facilitated in the introductory nutrition course and 4 within the introductory dietetic course, ensuring each group consisted only of participants from the same degree.The groups were facilitated by experienced group moderators from the research team who were independent of the students' teaching and assessment at the time of the study to promote trustworthiness and more open discussion.Informed consent was obtained from all participants.Group discussions ranged from 50−60 minutes and were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Data Analysis
Student demographics were exported from the online survey into an Excel document.The data were organized using students into their respective degree categories (Bachelor of Nutrition or Bachelor of Dietetics students).Descriptive statistics were undertaken using SPSS statistical software (version 24.0, IBM, 2016) to summarize the student demographic data.
Data from all focus group discussions were analyzed using the Framework Approach. 25The authors read and reread the transcripts to become immersed in the data.Three authors initially coded and categorized 4 transcripts independently before coming together as a team to develop a coding framework.This team discussion included a critique of the author's positionality, which was highlighted through the earlier reflexivity exercises, and a coding framework was agreed on during the team discussion.All authors then worked together to code the data.The authors identified specific themes and patterns as they emerged, continuing to assign meanings to categories and subcategories.Select quotes were chosen to illustrate themes in the results.

Demographics
The demographics for dietetic and nutrition degrees were similar.Across both degrees, most students identified as female, aged 17−24 years, Australian citizens, did not identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, were employed part-time, not the first in their family to attend university, and did not move away to attend university (see Table 2).

Focus Group Results
Thirty-six students from the nutrition degree and 32 students from the dietetics degree participated in the 8 focus group discussions.Each discussion group had between 6 and 11 participants.The findings have been presented according to 4 themes ( 1) motivations for and influence on career choice and preprofessional identity, (2) expectations of professional competency and practice, (3) degree expectations, and (4) career expectations.Subthemes within each of these themes are described in the following sections.
Motivation for and influences on career choice and preprofessional identity.The motivations for pursuing a career in nutrition and dietetics were similar across programs.A desire to help others was the key motivation for pursuing a career in both nutrition and dietetics.When reporting on this desire, students focused on educating people and managing disease."To help people, one on one" [dietetic student].
To promote health to people who don't really understand and don't have the knowledge in that area and then like people who don't have the experience or the time to learn about it themselves.[nutrition student] Nutrition students did acknowledge preventative health and addressed the key determinants of health as strategies to improve nutrition; however, the dietetic students were focused on the medical model of health, the relationship between diet and disease, and the provision of dietetic education.
"I'd like to help people get better access to food because in certain communities they don't necessarily have the tools and knowledge" [nutrition student].
I think the biggest thing for me is helping people realize they can manage diseases without feeling like they are different, or they have to miss out on life or feeling ashamed if I want to have a bit of cake or a bit of chocolate.[dietetic student] Internal motivation also played a major role in students' choice of career with many students describing their personal or family experiences with disease, dieting, poor eating habits, and emotional eating.Students who were parents also discussed the difficulties of feeding their children, experiences managing childhood disease, or wanting to be a role model.Internal motivation was equally discussed across the nutrition and dietetic cohorts.
"I was actually diagnosed with celiac disease when I was 5 so I've also always been interested in all that healthy stuff" [dietetic student].
"I have two small kids at home and one of them has food intolerance, so I'm very passionate about food" [nutrition student].
Students in both degrees also consistently discussed the desire to understand the evidence and sift through the misinformation provided online.This discussion was linked to both internal and external motivations, with students expressing the need to educate themselves and the wider community through this learning.
I think there is a lot of confusion for the lay public about what to do and what to eat and how to interpret everything and it's murky, am I a nutritionist am I a dietitian, have I done a 3-month online course, am I a certified sports nutritionist.I get frustrated with that.[dietetic student] "I find nutrition can be confusing, so I wanted to learn it for myself.But I also want to help people who find that there's so much conflicting information out there" [nutrition student].
Many dietetic students also reported being influenced by exposure to a dietitian.Both positive and negative experiences were discussed, with some students motivated to become a dietitian to model the behavior of the dietitian they observed and others motivated by a negative experience and wanting to do a better job.
I do like a fair bit of sport.And like in my carnivals and stuff we always have like a nutritionist or like a dietitian or somebody there.And it's just, I find it really interesting.I was like, wow, I really want to do that sort of thing.So yeah, that sort of how I came about it.[dietetic student] A few years ago, my dad had a heart attack and I happened to be in the room when the dietitian came in, and the dietitian was pathetic, that's just brutally honest it was "stop this, stop that, do this," there was no comfort or bedside manner and I just feel like that's an area where I can contribute to and that will give a greater value and I guess happier life for me, so that's kind of it.[dietetic student] The factors influencing the selection of either a nutrition or dietetic degree differed between degrees, with the core driver for dietetic students being the attainment of a professional degree with a clear career pathway.In comparison, the key themes discussed by nutrition students centered on personal drivers such as having a keen interest in food and nutrition and building on their current career.
"I looked obviously, like I'm sure a lot of people would have at nutrition as well but, I found for me I didn't see a clear pathway at the end of it" [dietetic student].
I would say for me, I did also start off studying nutrition a number of years ago actually, before kids, so before 10 years ago and yeah, it's always been my passion, I love food, food is life for me.[nutrition student] There was much discussion around the difference between the 2 degrees.Dietetic students recognized their degree within the health workforce and highlighted professional accreditation and the importance of becoming an accredited practicing dietitian.Registration with Medicare and the ability to provide patients Many nutrition students discussed their desire to use the nutrition degree to build on their current career or to work in a more rewarding career.Students reported owning small businesses such as social media, personal training, beauty therapy, and wellness coaching.
Career advancement so I'm actually a beauty therapist and I want to link skin and skin disorders with nutrition because I think that's really important, and I also am leaning towards becoming a naturopath...[nutrition student] I've started as a hobby building up an Instagram and social media platform and so because of that I want to be more educated on things I'm interested in so that I can actually kind of spread real information. .

. [nutrition student]
There was discussion in both nutrition and dietetic groups around moving between the 2 degrees.Most of this discussion focused on moving from nutrition to dietetics, with the common motivation being the pursuit of a professional qualification that would provide more job opportunities.
I'm late entry last week and so I couldn't get in dietetics so it was timing for me. ..so they said do a year of nutrition and hopefully if you can keep your score good then you're qualified to move across.

[nutrition student]
For me, I am very interested in the food industry.I worked years as a chef.I was studying dietetics before and then I just changed to nutrition because I think for what I want to do. . .I think nutrition will be leading me more to that.

[nutrition student]
The preprofessional identity of first-year nutrition and dietetic students appeared similar across degrees and was linked back to the factors influencing students' choice of degree.Both groups envisioned themselves as being nutrition experts when they graduated; however, dietetic students linked their "nutrition expert" status to being a qualified health professional and accredited practicing dietitian, whereas nutrition students discussed being a reputable source of nutrition information within the health industry and community.
"It's a badge for me, it's like I'm going to be proud to call myself a dietitian, is something where I'm going to say, 'I am a dietitian I'm going to make a difference'" [dietetic student].
"Being a reputable source of knowledge.Having the qualification" [nutrition student].
Expectations of professional competency and practice.Communication and counseling skills were the most common themes identified across both degrees when discussing the key skills and attributes required to be an effective nutritionist or dietitian.However, nutrition students also identified a number of other key skills required to be an effective nutritionist, such as cultural sensitivity, teamwork, and leadership.
Communication and counseling skills focused primarily on the clinical context across both degrees, with many discussing the need to be client-centered, approachable, nonjudgmental, and compassionate.
Being able to read people when they come in, being able to read and analyse people so picking up on their rapport, being able to build rapport, being able to read body language and all that sort of communication skills are probably very huge, I think.[ Understand a client and kind of understand what they need and then be able to take all the science and all the knowledge and apply that to individual cases, and take care of the psychology side of things.[dietetic student] From my experience in the clinic, our clients could not understand the terminology that the specialist doctor used, but I could.So it's the ability to be able to take all this confusing information when they're in a crisis and being able to give them something real that they can understand and go home with a plan that they feel confident about.[nutrition student] Broader communication skills relevant outside of the counseling context were also mentioned, including public speaking and being culturally sensitive.
" Degree expectations.When discussing expectations for the nutrition and dietetics degree, engagement in work-integrated learning was a key theme across both programs.Staff support, establishing professional networks, and attaining evidencebased nutrition knowledge were also discussed.
In the context of work-integrated learning, students expected exposure to practice and engagement in realworld practical experiences to enable them to be work-ready at the completion of their degree.They also looked for exposure to different workplaces and career options to help determine their future career pathway.A desire to meet nutrition and dietetic practitioners and build networks to support their future careers was also highlighted.
" Career expectations.When asked where students see themselves in 10 years, small business ownership and working in the fitness or sports industry were common themes across both degrees.Students also discussed the ability to be flexible in working in many different roles, including in corporate and overseas, hoping their degrees would provide more clarity on career opportunities.Nutrition students expressed the desire to become a dietitian or work in community nutrition and public health.
Less common themes included working in research, the food industry, and policy roles.
When discussing small business ownership, dietetic students focused on clinical private practice, with many identifying specialty areas such as women's health, sports nutrition, oncology, and health coaching.Nutrition students also discussed establishing a small business, though more in the context of social media, food catering, beauty, personal training, or health hubs and retreats.
"I would like to see myself working for myself.Focusing on women.Probably over the age of 30 that have completely forgotten about themselves, that's what I want to do" [dietetic student].
I have heaps of goals with my Instagram and social media, and I'd love to be in the triple digits of followers.I mean, like as in 100,000 not 1000.I want to be my own boss as well.I want to have my own business.I don't want to work for anybody else, that would make me want to die.[nutrition student] Some students had entrepreneurial aspirations and discussed the vision of establishing a business and having others work for them.These students expanded on the private practice focus to include health and wellness hubs or associated businesses.
Probably have (like) the bulk bill, Medicare come from local area maps and have (like) two other people I think and have (like) a little team and everyone has got their specialty and probably have someone who does massaging as well in the building, maybe a little physio and then you've got the nutritionist and you've got (like) this trifecta.[dietetic student] I'd love to have my own business.Combining a whole array of things and including other health professionals as well.Obviously, I want to go down the path of naturopathy, so being able to incorporate that.[nutrition student] Many students perceive private practice and establishing a small business as a way of improving their work-life balance.Working from home or working part-time and having the flexibility to travel and work from other locations was highlighted as a motivation for building a small business.Students also discussed the use of telehealth and online networks to communicate with clients.
"Running a practice from home four days per week, a bit more work life balance, on the verge of retirement in a couple of years" [dietetic student].
Yeah, a lot more telehealth stuff so that way maybe I can travel at the same time as working so that would probably be a nice way to incorporate a work life balance being able to see some things.
[dietetic student] There was very little discussion about working in a hospital setting.When this career option was discussed, dietetic students expressed the desire to build experience and networks as new graduates and then aspired to move into the private practice setting.
I thought that I would probably want to do the same thing and start off in hospital and then end up having my own practice or something.But, since coming back to uni only last week and listening to Anthony last week, I'm kind of now, feeling more interested in research and even teaching.[dietetic student] Working in the fitness industry and sports nutrition was another work aspiration of many students across both programs.These students discussed their previous experience in professional or semiprofessional sports or engagement in sports in their childhood.When discussing sports nutrition, students aspired to work with professional sporting clubs or in a private practice setting specializing in this area.
"I think working with a sporting team would be the best of both worlds so to have that as a career would just be the ultimate goal for sure, I'd love that" [dietetic student].
The Olympics could come in 2032 to Brisbane, so in my head at the time I was thinking well wouldn't that be good to like work with like the top athletes around the world and the top nutritionists and dietitians around that, in that atmosphere.[nutrition student]

DISCUSSION
This study aimed to examine the preprofessional identity of undergraduate nutrition and dietetic students to guide learning across degrees that better support students' expectations and promote career readiness in a changing profession.Both dietetic and nutrition science students from the present study highlighted internal and external drivers for pursuing their chosen careers.
In the dietetic student cohort, more than half entered the program from other pathways, not directly from school.This may have implications on their preprofessional identity and career expectations, with research finding that health promotion students entering via other pathways have a better understanding of their professional profile, anticipated challenges in their profession and can be more aware of health promotion roles and professional behavior compared with students attending university directly after school. 27otivations for a career in nutrition and dietetics for both cohorts centered on an interest in nutrition, a desire to help, personal or family experiences with food, and wanting to address nutrition misinformation.These findings are consistent with those by Lordly and Dub e 28 and Kobel, 29 who reported that students were motivated to study dietetics because of an interest in nutrition and health and/or a desire to help others.In addition, Hughes and Desbrow 16 reported family and personal experiences with obesity and eating disorders as key drivers for pursuing a career in dietetics.However, the motivation to address nutrition misinformation appears to be a newer trend, possibly because of the rapid increase in internet usage. 30,31The internet provides an extensive range of health and nutrition information to consumers, 32 and is heavily relied on in Australia and internationally. 33,34−37 Recent advances in nutritional science and subsequent shifts in nutrition recommendations (such as changing advice regarding fat, sugar, and cholesterol intake) have further exacerbated this issue by sowing confusion and distrust among consumers seeking evidence-based dietary guidance. 32,35,38ommunication and counseling skills were the most common themes discussed across both degrees when asked about the key skills and attributes required to be an effective dietitian or nutritionist.Hughes and Desbrow 16 also identified these skills as key competencies for aspiring student dietitians.Furthermore, a recent study of the nutrition industry professionals identified that communication skills were critical in their current roles, with business skills and professional skills required in addition to discipline-specific skills and knowledge. 18n the context of dietetic students, frequently discussed skills are aligned predominantly with the collaborative practice domain of the Australian National Competency Standards for Dietitians, with minor links to applying the nutrition care process within the expert practice domain. 7his highlights a narrow understanding of the skills required to be a professional dietitian and may link back to students' key external driver for pursuing a nutrition or dietetics career, being to help and educate people.These findings align with research conducted in 2012, which reported that students enter dietetics education with very little specific knowledge or understanding of the dietitian's role.However, family context, a single person, or an event can be a primer for a dietetics career. 28,39lthough nutrition science student discussions also predominantly focused on communication and counseling, additional skills identified did reflect a broader range of the nutrition science competencies. 15he additional skills highlighted by nutrition students may be driven by the program being a nonvocational degree that does not lead to a specific occupation.These degrees are designed to prepare graduates for diverse career options or additional study. 40,41Establishing professional accreditation for nutrition and aligning degrees to competency standards will establish a consistent professional identity and create a future workforce that is equipped to improve population health and nutrition.
Expectations of nutrition and dietetic students were similar and included exposure to practice, workplaces, career options, real-world experiences, and opportunities to meet different practitioners and build networks.−44 The findings in this paper are consistent with other studies in which work-integrated learning and reallearning 24,45 and a diversity of placement workplace settings are highly valued. 46Although the dietetic profession is evolving, the format and delivery of work-integrated learning over the last 20 years has generally remained consistent, indicating that while valuable, placements may not reflect or adequately prepare students for the future nutrition and dietetic professions. 47,48As there is an international trend to work toward professional accreditation of nutrition degrees, 12 it is important to consider preprofessional identity and student career expectations alongside the emerging fields of nutrition practice.This will ensure that new graduates are workready and equipped to engage in safe and credible practice in their chosen career pathway.
The expectation of staff support was discussed by both cohorts, though most frequently by nutrition students.Although there is no supporting evidence of this in nutrition and dietetics, this is a common theme in peer-reviewed literature internationally.−52 Entrepreneurship and work-life balance were identified as key factors across both degrees in our study, which is contrary to career expectations reported by Hughes and   Desbrow. 16This supports an emerging focus, and entrepreneurship was also identified by Boak et al 19 in their paper on the future roles of nutrition and dietetic professionals.
Dietetic students in our study leaned toward business ownership and private practice, specializing in areas such as women's health, sports nutrition, and oncology.These findings align with current reports internationally, 53 though are in contrast to the findings of Hughes and Desbrow 16 on career pathways, in which students aimed to work in a clinical or hospital position, in which they anticipated spending several years obtaining experience before branching out to private practice.Nutrition students in our study also identified business ownership, though driving this via social media and aligning it with their existing careers in catering, beauty, and personal training.This is reflective of emerging nutrition-related activity across media and retail. 17,18he strengths of this research are the well-established methodological approaches, team expertise in qualitative research, and scholarship in teaching and learning.The interview questions selected were informed by literature and piloted before use, in which the choice of open-ended questions allowed for robust discussion with students on their preprofessional identity, degree, and career expectations.In addition, students interviewed did not know the focus group moderator, reducing the risk of potential bias because of the perception of impacting future grades.The researchers also transcribed the interviews verbatim and employed research triangulation to discuss similarities and differences in interpreting the transcripts.
The limitations of the research included the cross-sectional study design, focus group size, and personal bias.Although the focus groups conducted were female-dominant, this is a reflection of the profession more broadly.In addition, the focus groups were large, but the skills of the moderators ensured each participant had an opportunity to respond to questions.Finally, although the research team may have had their personal bias, the use of bracketing and a research team from a broad range of nutrition and dietetic backgrounds and career pathways allowed for a more balanced analysis of the data.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH OR PRACTICE
By understanding student motivations, university activities can be more humanistic, grounded, and tailored to the student experience.This can be accomplished through learning objectives, class activities, assessments, and modes of delivery that build professional competency throughout the degree.In addition, exposure to nutrition and dietetic professionals from varied career pathways throughout the university programs, including work-integrated learning placements, helps students identify clear career pathways, build a professional identity, and enable professional competency development.As such, adaptations to workintegrated learning should be undertaken to reflect the career pathways in which students are most interested in progressing.This is particularly important for nutrition degrees, which historically have not been accredited by a professional body, had fewer work-integrated learning opportunities, and less defined career opportunities.
Future research includes (1) following students across their degree to see if their preprofessional identity changes as they become more socialized within the profession and how this is associated with professional competency development and (2) investigating recent graduates' and their supervisors' perspectives of the nutrition and dietetic university curriculum and the impact on their professional competency development and readiness for the workforce.

Table 1 .
Discussing Guide and Inquiry Logic for Nutrition and Dietetic Student Focus Groups a What do you want to get out of your degree?Explores students' expectations of the degree FGQ6.Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Explores students' career expectations FCG indicates focus group question.a

Table 2 .
Demographic Characteristics of Bachelor of Nutrition and Bachelor of Dietetic Students 26Includes France, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Columbia, Indonesia, Peru, Zimbabwe, Columbia, Indonesia, Peru, and South Africa; b Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations.26 Ensure you have the skills so when you go out into the real-world as a graduate [dietitian] . ... you are the best dietitian you can be" [die-