BACKGROUND The shortage of supervised practice sites in dietetics is associated with fewer numbers of preceptors available to supervise interns, especially in the clinical setting. OBJECTIVE To identify clinical dietitians' perceived benefits and challenges of training dietetic interns and to determine key motivators that would entice nonpreceptors to volunteer for the role. DESIGN Registered dietitian nutritionists working in clinical settings completed a semi-structured, audiotaped interview followed by a brief questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS Clinical dietitians working in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and outpatient clinics (n=100) participated: 54 preceptors and 46 nonpreceptors. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Qualitative analysis was conducted using an iterative process to identify and code common themes. T tests were used to compare mean differences between the opinions of preceptors and nonpreceptors. RESULTS Preceptors had approximately 5 more years of experience (mean=14.27±12.09 years) than nonpreceptors (mean=8.83±9.72 years) (P< 0.01). Furthermore, preceptors reported twice as many benefits to mentoring interns (mean=6.7 mentions/participant) as nonpreceptors (mean=3.4 mentions/participant), including knowledge gains and staying current. Lack of time was consistently noted as a barrier in interviews and rated as the greatest barrier in the survey. Both groups rated receiving continuing professional education units (CPEUs) for precepting as the greatest potential motivator for taking on interns. CONCLUSIONS Incentive programs should be developed to entice nonpreceptors to take on interns. These programs should include extensive training on the preceptor role and how to alleviate the burden of time spent supervising interns and should provide a significant number of CPEUs to make the added workload worthwhile.

中文翻译：

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在临床环境中培训饮食实习生的好处、障碍和动机：指导者和非指导者之间的比较

背景 营养学中受监督的实践场所的短缺与可用于监督实习生的导师数量较少有关，尤其是在临床环境中。目的 确定临床营养师对培训营养实习生的感知好处和挑战，并确定吸引非营养师自愿担任该角色的关键动机。设计 在临床环境中工作的注册营养师完成了半结构化的录音访谈，然后是简短的问卷调查。参与者 在医院、长期护理机构和门诊诊所工作的临床营养师（n=100）参与了：54 名指导者和 46 名非指导者。统计分析 定性分析是使用迭代过程来识别和编码共同主题的。T检验用于比较接受者和非接受者意见之间的平均差异。结果 接受者比非接受者（平均 = 8.83±9.72 年）有大约 5 年的经验（平均 = 14.27±12.09 年）（P < 0.01）。此外，指导者报告的指导实习生的好处（平均 = 6.7 提及/参与者）是非指导者（平均 = 3.4 提及/参与者）的两倍，包括知识增益和保持最新状态。缺乏时间一直被视为访谈中的障碍，并被评为调查中的最大障碍。两组都将接受继续专业教育单位 (CPEU) 的训诫评为接受实习生的最大潜在动力。结论 应制定激励计划以吸引未受训者接受实习生。