Analysis of Nutrition Worker Education in the Intensive Care Unit: A case study in the East Java Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Professional and competent nutritionists are required to prevent and treat malnutrition in the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of all hospitals. In Indonesia, the nutritionist work is divided into three
competencies based on education: Technical Registered Dietitian (TRD), who graduated with
three years-education, Registered Nutritionist (RN) with a Bachelor’s degree, and Registered
Dietitian (RD), who takes professional education after Bachelor. The government of Indonesia
regulates the sustainability of workers and education with the Minister of Health Regulation
(PMK) No. 26 of 2013 concerning the implementation of work and practices for nutrition
professionals. This research, aims to describe the composition of hospital ICU nutritionists in
the East Java Province through a cross-sectional survey. Respondents were recruited by a
convenience sampling technique. As many as 83 respondents filled out the questionnaire
electronically, and the data were analyzed descriptively using the Pareto principle. If at most
20% of the TRDs serve in the ICU, the education level of nutrition professionals is categorized
based on the regulations. Our survey unveiled that the composition of hospital ICU nutritionists
comprised 26.3% Technical Registered Dietitians, 67.5% Registered Nutritionists, and 6.0%
Registered Dietitians. These results imply that the composition of the hospital ICU nutritionists
in the East Java Province has not yet suited to the regulatory requirement. Improvement of the
educations is necessary since it will ensure that the nutritionists have the required competency
and, thus, guarantee their working quality of in the ICU.