Motivational Interviewing: The Challenge of Developing Skills and Evaluating Competency in Dietitians in Pediatric Practice

摘要

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a complex evidence-based client-centered counseling approach that has been demonstrated to be effective in the mental health field and also in the field of weight management. In light of the increasing obesity epidemic in our pediatric population, there has been increasing interest in the usefulness of MI by dietitians and other health professionals. Mental health professionals who use MI have several methods and tools available to evaluate knowledge and skills; however, these tools are not specific for dietitians. Although dietitians are encouraged to learn and improve MI skills, so far we have no guidelines on how much education and practice we need to be competent. Also, there are no specific guidelines on how to evaluate skills and competency. This article very briefly summarizes what MI is, tools used by other professionals to evaluate competency, and the challenges faced by dietitians to develop and evaluate skills. The article also describes one institution’s initiative to educate dietitians on MI, develop skills, and incorporate a way to evaluate skill development.