Competencies of foodservice directors/managers required in health care operations

The purpose of this research was to determine competencies of foodservice directors/managers as required by health care administrators and to ascertain the degree to which dietetic curriculums address those competencies. Validated questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 376 health care administrators and 154 dietetic educators from various types of educational programs. Each questionnaire included 57 competencies representing the following areas: financial, technical, personnel management, nutrition services, production, and marketing. Health care administrators were asked to rate the degree of importance for each competency. Dietetic educators assessed the degree to which each competency was addressed in their curriculums. Of the 288 returned questionnaires, 243 contained usable data. Health care administrators' mean ratings were compared with dietetic educators' mean ratings. Significant differences were noted in 44 of the 57 competencies. Dietetic educators placed significantly greater emphasis on competencies related to nutrition services and significantly less on financial competencies than did health care administrators. Significant differences also were observed for selected competencies classified as technical and production. Results indicated that dietetic educators must continually evaluate curriculums and respond to the changing needs of the health care industry.