Practice Supervision
Practice Supervision
The Dietitians Board (the Board) protects public health and safety by ensuring registered dietitians are competent and fit to practise at all stages of their career.
As part of meeting this objective, the Board requires all registered dietitians in their first year of practice in New Zealand to have practice supervision for a minimum of 12 months. The requirement for practice supervision is entered as a condition on the practitioner’s Annual Practising Certificate.
Practice supervision may also be required for other registered dietitians.
Practice supervision is workplace related and based on formal peer/practice review. It is a supportive process that enables practitioners to consolidate and enhance their professional and dietetic skills and lifelong learning habits.
Please familiarise yourself with the Practice Supervision Policy.
Practice Supervision is workplace related and required for:
- all New Zealand trained dietitians when they start practising for the first time
- all overseas trained dietitians when they start practising in New Zealand
It may also apply to:
- dietitians returning to work in New Zealand after a break of more than 2 years
- dietitians changing a dietetic practice context in which they have not previously practised, or have not practised for more than 2 years
- dietitians with identified competence deficits
The name of the practice supervisor must be notified to the Board and logged (‘Sign On’) on the Dietitians Portal within a fortnight of starting work.
Practice supervision meetings may be in person or virtual, and may include oral and/or written communications. It is the supervisee’s responsibility to keep accurate records of all supervisory sessions and to routinely log them on the Dietitians Board’s practitioner portal under the Supervision Tab.
Once the practice supervisor is satisfied a practitioner is competent and fit to practise (following the minimum 12 month practice supervisory period) they must complete the ‘Sign-Off’ declaration and the practice supervision period is considered to have been met and the ‘condition’ is removed from the practitioners APC.
If the practice supervisor changes during the year, the practitioner must find a new practice supervisor and note the change on the Dietitians Portal. Please follow the instructions on the Dietitians Log-in for sign on/sign off.
At the time of APC renewal all practitioners who have a practice supervision condition are required to have their practice supervisor complete a declaration to confirm that CPD has been discussed, is appropriate for the level of experience and learning goals met, and that there are no outstanding concerns or reasons which would mean that the practitioner should not have their APC renewed.
Refer to the Practice Supervision Guidelines for information on:
- Practice Supervision
- The Practice Supervision Agreement and Process
- Supervisee Responsibilities
- Supervisor Responsibilities
- Conflict Resolution
You can view the Practice Supervision Guide under the Supervision tab of your Practitioner Portal.
Professional Supervision
The Board strongly recommends ongoing professional supervision for all registered dietitians during their careers. For information regarding professional supervision please refer to Dietitians NZ website – members of the professional organisation have access to guidelines on professional supervision through the member log in.