Four final-year Dietetics with Nutrition students from IMU recently completed a two-month placement at the Student Dietetics Centre (SDC), stepping beyond the classroom to bring their academic knowledge into the real world. Through hands-on experience and community engagements, they not only applied what they learned but also sharpened their communication, leadership, and public engagement skills in diverse and meaningful ways.

The placement offered a unique opportunity for the students to directly interact with various communities, translating complex nutritional knowledge into accessible, relatable messages tailored to different audiences. Throughout the placement, the students explored various methods of communicating health information: adjusting language, format, and delivery to endure effective understanding, particularly in linguistically and culturally diverse settings.

Each student led an event during their time in SDC, enhancing their leadership capabilities and learning to coordinate externally with both university staff and the public. From conceptualisation to execution, they designed event materials such as posters, flipcharts, and interactive game props, ensuring that every detail aligned with educational goals and audience needs.

On 22 March 2025, IMU Cares hosted a diabetes-themed health carnival titled “DIABEAT It” and collaborated with SDC to provide education on nutritional management for diabetes through game booths, a diet chit chat booth, and an educational talk.

At the event, the students brushed up on their Bahasa Melayu to deliver a bilingual educational talk on diabetes management through diet. The session was also simultaneously interpreted in Malaysian Sign Language as most of the participants were from the deaf community, supported with vibrant visuals to ensure inclusivity and clarity for all attendees.

Supplementary activities included a diet chit chat booth offering general dietary advice to participants referred from other booths, as well as two game booths: ‘Blood Sugar Spikes,’ a glycemic index guessing game, and ‘Myths or Facts?’, a diabetes-related matching game. These games helped participants engage with information in a fun and interactive way.

An estimated 50 people engaged with the activity booths with majority of them from the Deaf community, and the rest comprising members of the public and IMU staff. The participants gave positive verbal feedback as the advice given to them as well as questions they had were answered by the students clearly and concisely. Those who needed further dietary advice were referred to the SDC for individual consultations and it was estimated that three of these participants made appointments to visit the SDC.

In collaboration with AMSA IMU for AMSA Malaysia Health Day, an event themed “Healthier Gut, Healthier You” was carried out on 24 April 2025, where SDC was invited to set up a featured booth. Here, the students provided nutrition screening for participants using the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) machine and stadiometer. After taking the participants readings, they were directed to the diet chit chat booth to have their results, particularly their body mass index (BMI), fat mass percentage, and muscle mass percentage explained and interpreted. This helped participants better understand their own health metrics, while providing an opportunity to address any questions they had related to gut health.

Body composition screenings were conducted for 63 out of approximately 100 participants, predominantly IMU students and staff. The feedback received were very positive, as evidenced by an influx of individuals visiting SDC for a more advanced nutrition screening using the SECA machine in the weeks following the event. The majority of them mentioned that they attended SDC’s booth at AMSA Malaysia Health Day.

Recognising the nutritional challenges faced by individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis, the students collaborated with the IMU Dialysis Centre to organise a group education session. This community project was preceded by two thorough assessments: one to assess knowledge gaps and interest, the other to review the participants’ biochemical data, co-morbidities, and other relevant data.

The resulting flipchart, developed and assembled by the students, outlined foods high and low in sodium, potassium, and phosphate, alongside tips for fluid management and the consequences of dietary mismanagement. Designed for clarity, the flipchart featured simple language and visuals, as well as interactive elements such as quizzes and a crossword puzzle to reinforce the educational content.

The group education session was conducted on 7 May 2025 and prior to the session, participants were screened for the risk of malnutrition and muscle loss. Delivered in both English and Bahasa Melayu, the session was conducted during their dialysis session and reached 11 individuals.

Through this opportunity, the students learned how to navigate and adapt in an unexpected environment as it was their first time conducting an event at a dialysis centre. Additionally, they were able to enhance their engagement skills to ensure that participants understand the content delivered with clarity.

The final event in the students’ two-month placement took place at the Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) in collaboration with IMU Cares during their Labour Day celebration. SDC hosted a diet chit chat booth and body composition screenings using the BIA machine and stadiometer for the government employees. This event gave students further opportunity to strengthen their Bahasa Melayu and deliver nutritional advice in an approachable, respectful manner.

Over the course of the placement, the students balanced internal duties – managing the centre, providing individual diet consultations, and conducting nutrition screenings – with external engagements and event plannings. Guided by their clinical instructors and university supervisor, they learned not just clinical skills, but also how to be adaptable, empathetic, and confident practitioners.

In addition to clinical and community engagement, the students also honed valuable soft skills essential for a well-rounded healthcare professional. They took on administrative responsibilities such as scheduling appointments, maintaining client records, and preparing resource materials for consultations. Their creativity was put into use when designing informative pamphlets and visually appealing posters that effectively conveyed key nutrition messages. Furthermore, they contributed to SDC’s social media presence by crafting educational posts and event highlights, learning how to translate nutrition into digestible, engaging content for a digital audience. These experiences enhanced their organisational skills, attention to detail, and digital literacy – skills that are increasingly important in today’s multidisciplinary healthcare environment.

Equally important was the camaraderie built among the four students, where their collaboration, teamwork, and mutual support helped them thrive, turning a professional placement into a transformative experience filled with learning and fun.

As they step forward into the workforce, the lessons learned at SDC, about communication, leadership, and community engagements, will serve as lasting foundations. This experience not only prepared them for the clinical world but also instilled the confidence and compassion essential to becoming impactful, people-centered dietitians.

Written by DN 121 Students: Claire Faye Jong, Natasha Khoo Yuen Teng, Sofiyya Hassan, Tan Sue Ann