Human Nutrition and Dietetics - MSc

Sean O’Connell – graduate of the MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme 2020
I chose to study MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics because of my interest in nutrition and the desire to work with people. I’m a Community Dietitian working in community hospitals.
I completed my undergrad at UL and I was keen to further my studies there. It’s a fantastic campus with lots of hands on learning opportunities. 

The amount of placement we had really helped to set us up for the work environment. Tutors/lectures/course director were always very accessible and ready to help. This course felt much more personal than the previous courses I did.
It was a very practical course. Our lectures and tutorials and multidisciplinary modules set us up very well for placements and our placements set us up very well for work. I got to experience a lot of different aspects of dietetics on placements. There was always someone available to help while on placement if something wasn’t going how I expected to. Food Service placement really helped us to get an insight into the hospital catering systems. 

We had opportunities to experience community and acute placements as well as food service. Experience of multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings which has been very important because of my current role in winter planning in Cork Community Dietetic services which is all MDT based.

If you have an interest in dietetics, definitely look into the course at UL and look up the modules and course outline. See if it’s something that interests you and, most importantly don’t be discouraged in pursing it as a career, the course equips you so well for the working world and really gives you the skills needed to leave feeling confident.

Clodagh Scannell, Community Dietitian Cork. I chose to study the MSc. Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Limerick because of UL’s well known reputation for employability. The university is also well known for excellent student-life and for its contribution to sporting teams which was of huge importance to me. The facilities in UL are state of the art and the brand-new library made studying even easier. 
The small class size meant that every student was given equal attention and student-specific guidance. The lecturers were extremely helpful, approachable and always only a quick email away. 
The Human Nutrition and dietetics MSc. at UL stands out as being new, upcoming and innovative. Some of the unique features of this course include multi-disciplinary modules with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language students. This helped to prepare me not only for placement but also for my current job which involves a lot of MDT work. Over the course of the two years we also had guest lecturers come and speak to us when learning about particular clinical topics. This was invaluable in my learning as the guests were experts in their field of work and we were very fortunate to hear them speak. Some of our lectures were based in the University Hospital. This was extremely beneficial as it helped us to become accustomed to the everyday hustle and bustle of the hospital setting and also meant that we gained additional hospital experience outside of the formal placement setting. 
The course was delivered across two years and included clinical placement and lecturers. Modules were assessed via assignments, exams and clinical placement so all student abilities were catered for. 
Towards the end of this course we received talks from dietitians in different roles. This was great in helping us decide what career path we wanted to follow. Guidance was also given to us around interviews and I really feel this interview preparation helped me to secure the job I’m at today. The lecturers also had experiences themselves of working abroad and they were really able guide us around the process of moving away.
I would really recommend MSc. Human Nutrition and Dietetics at UL to anyone looking to become a dietitian. The second I entered the workforce I felt well prepared and confident in my ability to be the best dietitian I could be and to provide up to date evidence based advice to my clients. This was all thanks to the first class education I received at UL. 

Iballa “After my undergraduate degree I decided dietetics was the career path for me. I applied to different colleges, but UL was definitely where I wanted to go. I had friends who were studying postgraduate courses at UL and when I visit them and saw the campus I knew I wanted to study my masters there. The college atmosphere and the facilities were amazing. After a long couple of months waiting to hear from different universities I received an offer for a place in the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics at UL. I started in September and I met my 14 classmates (who I now call friends) and all the lecturers. Since the start, the lecturers really made an effort to get to know us and share their passion for dietetics, which was palpable. We were also very lucky to have some shared modules with other allied health students (physiotherapist, speech and language therapist and occupational therapist) which really helped prepare us for working with them during our placements and as registered dietitians. I completed a total of 1000 hours of placement in acute and community settings. During our placements we had amazing support from our placement tutors who encouraged us to become better and better everyday. Overall, I think the course prepared me extremely well for my current role as a hospital dietitian.”

Helen "I chose to study the MSc Human Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Limerick due to its excellent academic reputation, high graduate employment rate and world class facilities. Having completed my undergraduate studies in Dublin, I was also keen to experience University life in another city of Ireland.

The course itself is full of variety, and it exposes you to a wide range of experiences, thereby equipping you with the skillset necessary to become a dietitian. In addition, the small class size, excellent academic staff and ongoing student engagement means your individual learning needs are continuously met. Given the collaborative nature of the course, we had the opportunity to work closely alongside the lecturers and practice tutors, all of whom were very approachable, accessible and on hand to help.

Another interesting aspect of the course was that throughout the two year programme, we completed interdisciplinary modules alongside occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy students. This not only enabled us to meet and engage with students from other courses, but it also helped prepare us for the real-life scenarios in which we worked alongside other healthcare professionals in acute and community settings during our practical placements.

As part of the learning experience, we attended lectures from guest speakers including dietitians, doctors and health promotion workers. I found this extremely beneficial as it encouraged me to consider the areas of dietetics which were of greatest interest to me. Once the academic and practical aspects of the course had been completed, we also had the opportunity to speak to a range of dietitians working in various different roles, both within and outside of Ireland. In addition, we heard from past students and academic staff regarding job application advice and interview tips. The information I obtained from these talks was invaluable to me when seeking employment as a graduate dietitian.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience studying the MSc Human Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Limerick. I highly recommend both this Master’s programme and the career of dietetics to anyone who is considering following this path."

• Why you chose to study at UL?

I chose to study the MSc. Human Nutrition and Dietetics because of my interest in nutrition and my desire to work within a multi-disciplinary team to help as many people as possible. I chose University of Limerick for a number of reasons including UL’s well known reputation, sporting facilities and smaller class size which allowed for individual specific attention and guidance throughout the two year course. 

• What were programme highlights/what is unique about the UL programme?

On reflection, the time spent on food service, clinical and role emerging placements throughout the course was a real highlight and allowed me to gain exposure to a variety of different and memorable experiences. The role emerging aspect of placement was a unique opportunity to work within a disadvantaged community and improve both nutritional knowledge and practical skills of a teenage population. 

• What learning activities/opportunities in particular relate to your current work?

The skills I developed throughout my time in UL such as communication, presentation, nutritional counselling, behaviour change and multi-disciplinary teamwork applied to my previous role with the UFC and to my current role with Munster Rugby. Aspects of body composition analysis and interpretation alongside calculating nutritional requirements are also key to my current practice. 

• Anything else you would like to contribute to a potential applicant!

On completion of the MSc. Human Nutrition and Dietetics you will have a huge variety of career opportunities from a clinical, community, role emerging, corporate, educational, private and sporting perspective which is a massive positive. The lecturers at UL provide brilliant guidance and are always accessible to answer questions and point you in the right direction throughout the course and after you graduate. 

Keela Spillane, "I chose to study at the University of Limerick due to its excellent world class academic and social facilities to both students and the local community, high graduate employment rate and friendly, helpful staff that support and encourage students to get the best out of their education. Having completed my undergraduate degree also at the University of Limerick, I was lucky to have called it my home for 4 years and I wanted to continue this for a further 2 years. I couldn’t have imagined myself studying anywhere else! I chose to study a MSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics so I could combine my interests in food, health, healthy eating, disease prevention, biochemistry and performance nutrition. I want to be able to help others and educate them around nutrition helping them live a healthier and happy lifestyle.

For me, a key highlight from the course was the time spent on the various placements. As part of the MSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetic programme you complete 1000 hours of clinical, community, food service and role-emerging placements. These placements broadened my knowledge in many areas of dietetics, allowing me to put the theory learned into real-life scenarios as well as equipping me with the skillset and competence to practice as a dietitian following graduation. The MSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme at UL also has some unique features. While many of us may think placements may just occur in the acute and community settings, this programme also allows students to experience placement in role emerging areas. This includes working in areas such as health promotion, industry and disadvantaged communities and schools helping to increase knowledge in various aspects of nutrition relevant to the population group. Another interesting aspect of the programme, which has been hugely beneficial to my role as a dietitian in the acute setting, is the completion of interdisciplinary modules alongside the other healthcare professional programmes (speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy). These interdisciplinary modules were hugely beneficial as it allowed me to gain insight into the other professions but also prepared me for real-life working, working together as part of the multidisciplinary team.

Over the course of the programme, we had many guest lecturers who spoke about their experiences working in different clinical areas. This was a valuable learning opportunity which allowed me to gain insight into on area from the experts in the field. Also, some lectures and tutorials took place in the Clinical, Education and Research Centre (CERC) at the University Hospital of Limerick (UHL). This afforded us the opportunity to become more aware of the hospital environment and accustomed to the hospital setting outside of the formal placement times. Throughout the 2-year programme, I had ample opportunities to develop key skills such as communication, multidisciplinary teamwork, behaviour change, nutrition counselling, calculation of nutritional requirements and interpretation of dietary intakes, research of the evidence-base and dissemination of findings and presenting. These skills have been of utmost importance to my role as an acute dietitian where I deliver both an inpatient and outpatient service to those in the hospital providing nutrition counselling using the evidence-base.  

I would highly recommend a career in dietetics and the MSc programme in UL. I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years on the programme and felt fully prepared and confident to practice as a dietitian when I finished the programme. The lecturers, tutors and staff on the programme offer continuous guidance, support and expertise knowledge and are always there to help you out. With a career in dietetics the opportunities are endless with career prospects in clinical, community, role-emerging, industry, research, education, private and sport settings."