Featured Preceptor - A conversation with Christine St. Clair, RD
Christine received her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutritional Sciences from the University of Manitoba followed by completing an internship with the Manitoba Partnership Dietetic Education Program in 2011. She started out her career as a community RD working for a not-for-profit organization supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities. On the side, she began studying and volunteering her time working with athletes and excitedly accepting contract opportunities from the Canadian Sport Centre of Manitoba. She started building a private practice servicing provincial-level athletes while working alongside the support team at the Sport Medicine Centre in Winnipeg.
Christine now has over 10 years of experience providing nutrition support to Canada’s development and elite-level athletes, joining the team at Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) 6 years ago to dedicate her talents full-time to high performance sport, where she played an integral role in supporting Olympic and Paralympic athletes who competed in Rio at the 2016 Games and continues to support athletes training for Tokyo 2020ne. In her current role as a Sport Nutritionist with the CSIO, Christine is the national nutrition lead for the Canadian Women’s Basketball team and provides sport nutrition leadership in numerous development programs.
Why do you choose to take on the role of a preceptor?
Our nutrition department (team of 3 RD’s at CSIO) is committed to training and developing sport nutrition professionals. It not only serves our interns, and our team, but the profession as a whole - and we want to be part of building a ‘world-leading’ discipline of sport dietetics. Additionally, it helps sharpen our knowledge and expertise, by adding an “educational” layer to the equation. You can be absolutely brilliant but without being able to teach or be relatable, you can’t be effective.
What do you believe is the most important role a preceptor plays in augmenting a student’s education?
Providing a safe space. It can be scary to jump into a placement in the field with so many unknowns. If a student feels safe, she/he can be open and feel confident to try new things, make mistakes and learn from them. I think providing this environment is critical for learning.
What strategies have you found effective when precepting dietetic students and what do you do to prepare for a student?
Providing a good balance of independent and shadowing opportunities. We usually have a few projects on-the-go, which means our students can take the lead on something, learn to prioritize their time and manage a few projects. We also like to provide opportunities to shadow - to come at an experience from another perspective which can then allow the student to self-reflect and determine his/her own counseling or problem-solving style.
I look to prepare learning opportunities which will fulfil the student’s goals and learning objectives they’ve communicated as well as serve our organization.
What do you perceive to be the professional and personal benefits of becoming a preceptor?
I believe it enhances my leadership skills and broadens my own knowledge in some areas. Knowing that I have to teach another dietitian encourages me to check in on my own methods and skills to make sure he/she is receiving the best mentorship experience.
Every student’s learning style is different, so I feel I am constantly learning and growing as a preceptor to be an effective and valuable resource to them.
test