A History : the Third Quarter Century 1993-2018’
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NEW ZEALAND DIETETIC ASSOCIATION (Inc) / DIETITIANS NEW ZEALAND (Inc) A HISTORY The Third Quarter Century 1993-2018 NEW ZEALAND DIETETIC ASSOCIATION (Inc) / DIETITIANS NEW ZEALAND (Inc) A HISTORY The Third Quarter Century 1993-2018 Julian Jensen and Pip Duncan ISBN: 978-0-473-44220-0 ©Dietitians New Zealand, Wellington, 2018 DIETITIANS NZ HISTORY 1 Foreword WHEN the New Zealand Dietetic Association (NZDA) turned 50 in 1993, President Gillian Tustin summed up the situation as we launched into our second half century. Membership stood at 368; we had eight subcommittees where much of the work of the NZDA was achieved; we set up task forces for specific projects; we had six branches and special interest groups were becoming increasingly important – we had six in 1993. There were two dial-a-dietitian services – one in Auckland and one in Christchurch; the Journal and News & Views continued to be important means of communication between and among members. Awards were important, and the Award of Excellence was very new – there had been four awarded by 1993. Neige Todhunter’s bequest of over $150,000 had been received in 1993 and gave the NZDA a wonderful opportunity to assist members with postgraduate education. Gillian closed by saying “The New Zealand Dietetic Association is now in a very sound position to pro-actively support the development of the profession.” Twenty-five years later, as we embark on our 75th Jubilee year, we can compare Gillian’s summary with today’s. Membership stood at 597 in 2017. We now have at least four people who have been members for over 60 years. There are 12 Dietitians New Zealand representatives on external groups. We have seven branches, and 17 special interest groups. We have had 25 Awards of Excellence, and 28 dietitians have benefitted from the Neige Todhunter Award for postgraduate study. Our honorary life memberships stand at eight, and seven of these were elected since 1993. Some of the standout happenings over this past 25 years include the move from Vote: Health to Vote: Education for the training of dietitians; firstly the University of Otago Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics, and in more recent years, the three Masters programmes, offered by the University of Auckland, University of Otago and Massey University; the change of our name from the New Zealand Dietetic Association to Dietitians New Zealand (Dietitians NZ) and new logos; the amalgamation of our Journal with the Dietitians Association of Australia Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, and then our withdrawal from that partnership; the change from a regionally-based executive committee to a skills-based Council; and the establishment of a national office to manage the operational aspects of Dietitians NZ. In terms of professional qualifications, the number of New Zealand dietitians with PhDs has grown from four in 1993 to 24 today with a number more in progress. Dietitians continue to excel in many specialities, both in New Zealand and internationally. One very significant advance has been gaining the ability to prescribe special foods and other approved nutrition-related medications. Growth in many areas over that last 25 years has been amazing. However dietitians can never become complacent. Dietitians need to accept the challenges that will continue to confront them, and strive to make the dietetic profession the ‘go-to’ health profession for evidence-based food and nutrition advice. Our stories appear in the following pages – let us be proud to be, or have been, dietitians! Acknowledgements Tēnā koutou katoa In assembling this history, we have worked to ensure that we have provided a comprehensive picture of the work of Dietitians NZ and dietitians over the last 25 years. We searched and requested far and wide and were delighted with the responses, and thank the many dietitians from the regions, branches, special Interest groups and unique work settings for their stories. Any omission is regretted. However, given our extensive search for content, we as editors cannot be responsible for any such omission. We would like to acknowledge the following for input into the book: Christine Cook, Kate Sladden and Madeleine Price for their review of the draft manuscript, Jo Paynter for her generosity in providing design and layout services of the draft manuscript, and Bruce Jensen for technical advice. We also acknowledge the use of Annual Reports from New Zealand Dietetic Association, Dietitians New Zealand and the New Zealand Dietitians Board, and Dion Crooks’ 1993 history ‘New Zealand Dietetic Association (Inc) and Dietetics in New Zealand – 50 years of Achievement and Challenges’. Julian Jensen and Pip Duncan August 2018 2 DIETITIANS NZ HISTORY Contents Dietitians NZ - the road to governance ........................................................................................................... 4 The Dietitians Board ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Dietitians training programmes .................................................................................................................................. 7 Communications .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Branches ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Regions ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Primary health .................................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Clinical specialities and special interest groups ..................................................................................... 23 Dietitians in foodservice ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Dietitians in private practice ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Sports nutrition ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Dietitians supporting healthy ageing .................................................................................................................... 36 State sector dietetics ............................................................................................................................................................... 37 Public health ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Non-government organisations ................................................................................................................................... 44 Dietitians in the food industry ..................................................................................................................................... 47 International links .......................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Diversity in traditional roles ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Achievements in the New Zealand health sector....................................................................................... 53 Recent graduates ........................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 57 • Dietitians Award of Excellence .................................................................................................................... 57 • Honorary life members ....................................................................................................................................... 58 • Nestlé young achiever ........................................................................................................................................... 60 • Neige Todhunter and Bernice Kelly awards .............................................................................. 61 • Awards ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 • NZ honours .......................................................................................................................................................................... 63 • Constance Shearer Lecturers ........................................................................................................................