PRACTICE APPLICATIONS
Topics of Professional Interest
Retaining Hispanic Dietetic Undergraduate
Students through Mentoring and Professional
Development
This article is reprinted from the project. 4 The need to augment the whites.9 Factors that contribute to
February 2014 issue of the Journal number of registered dietitian nutri- decreased retention and poor academic
of the Academy of Nutrition and tionists (RDNs) who are culturally achievement include low income10;
Dietetics (2014;114(2):189-195). competent to serve the increasing mi- disconnection with institution’s faculty,
nority populations can be accomplished student life, and department re-
by implementing new curriculum for sources11,12; lack of college-educated role
T
HE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION
all dietetic students5,6 and by adding models13-15; lack of parental higher ed-
and Dietetics’ (the Academy’s)
commitment to diversity within
to the recruitment of culturally diverse ucation16; or parents prioritizing obliga-
students into undergraduate dietetic tions to help with family chores and
the profession and the reduc-
programs. 3 The need to increase spend time with family and school
tion of health disparities is reflected by
recruitment has been documented, 6 work.17,18 Mentoring may serve as a
its diversity philosophy statement,1 the
but the literature has not addressed strategy to retain Hispanic students in
Commission on Dietetic Registration
re te nt io n o f st u de n ts o nc e th ey higher education programs.19,20
Code of Ethics,2 the Accreditation Coun-
have been accepted into a dietetics Mentoring is an effective means of
cil for Education in Nutrition and Die-
program. diversifying the health professions.6,21
tetics standards, 3 and in terms of
This article describes the implemen- Two outstanding mentoring programs
education preparation and retention,
tation and evaluation of a mentoring in the field of dietetics have been es-
the Academy’s Diversity Mentoring
program for Hispanic* undergraduate tablished at the educational prepara-
dietetics students along with a study tion level—the Mentoring Multicultural
that illustrates specific ways in which a Students for the Food and Nutritional
Statement of Potential Conflict of Interest: The
authors have no potential conflict of interest to
mentoring program can retain minority Sciences Program6,22 and the Academy’s
disclose. students in the dietetics professions and Building our Future Mentoring Project.4
provide support for their successful en- Other well-evaluated mentoring pro-
try into the profession.7 grams in fields related to dietetics
This article was written by Lizett include Louisiana State University’s
Olivares, MS, RD, California State BACKGROUND
Polytechnic University Pomona, Col- mentoring program for the science,
lege of Agriculture, Department of Hispanics suffer from poor college technology, engineering, and mathe-
Human Nutrition and Food Science; completion rates when compared with matics fields,23 and allied health.24 Cal-
Bonny Burns-Whitmore, DrPH, RD, other Americans; only 35% of 18- to ifornia State Polytechnic University,
professor and director, Didactic Pro- 24-year-old Hispanics who are enrolled Pomona, is a Hispanic Serving Institu-
gram in Dietetics, and graduate in college finish their degree, compared
coordinator, California State Poly- tion, with Hispanics comprising ap-
with 46% of whites.8 Only 11% of His- proximately 25% of the student body.
technic University Pomona, College
of Agriculture, Department of Human panics aged 18 to 24 years have a bach- The California State Polytechnic Uni-
Nutrition and Food Science; and Lisa elor’s degree compared with 34% of versity in Pomona’s Dietetic Mentoring
Kessler, DrPH, RD, interim associate Program was adapted to fit the needs
dean, California State Polytechnic *The terms Hispanic and Latino are of Hispanic students, but is suitable for
University Pomona, College of Agri-
culture, Department of Human used interchangeably in the literature any student. This mentoring program
Nutrition and Food Science. to identify persons of Spanish- is the first to specifically address the
speaking origin or descent who desig- needs of Hispanic undergraduate di-
[Link] nate themselves as Mexican-American, etetics students and is based on the
Available online 8 December 2013 Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or of well-documented Tinto theory11 on
other Hispanic origin. This group is
higher education retention. Tinto’s
comprised of individuals with diverse
backgrounds and countries of origin theory identifies three major reasons
To take the Continuing Professional Education
including South and Central America for students’ departure from higher
quiz for this article, log in to [Link]. education before earning a degree: ac-
org, go to the My Account section of My and the Caribbean, recent immigrants
Academy Toolbar, click the “Journal Quiz” link, as well as those individuals whose ademic difficulties, inability to match
click “Journal Article Quiz” on the next page, families have been in the United States educational and occupational goals,
and then click the “Additional Journal CPE and failure to integrate into the intel-
Article“ button to view a list of available quizzes.
for generations. This article will use the
term Hispanic. lectual and social life of the institution.
S10 JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS ª 2015 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.