Nutrition and Dietetics

I am Professor Aydan Ercan. I completed my undergraduate, graduate and doctorate education at Hacettepe University, Nutrition and Dietetics Department. I gained experience by working in the field for many years and after a point I moved to academic life. I am currently working as the head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Trakya University. Trakya University Faculty of Health Sciences was opened in the 2009-2010 academic year and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics has become active during this period. It had its first graduates in 2013. Since that day, we have seen a great demand and we continue our education with full capacity quota. Our biggest goal here is to train dietitians who are enlightened, bright and scientific, and who will provide nutrition education to future generations and a healthy lifestyle needed by the society. Healthy Nutrition requires a conscious behavior for sustaining life, gaining or strengthening health, treating diseases and increasing productivity. It concerns all the people. However, dietetics belongs to a whole different dimension. Here, we focus on the interaction of food, human and health. Therefore, while nutrition is a broad subject, dietetics occupies a very specific and specialized field. The dietitian profession is defined as a healthcare professional who has graduated from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, one of the Health Sciences faculties of universities, with a 4-year bachelor's degree, in the law no. 1219, known as the health profession law. Our courses, of course, are heavily focused on nutrition and dietetics. However, when we say human and nutrition, we think of the human beings not only physiologically, but also from a social and psychological point of view. For this reason, we strengthen the curriculum of our nutrition and dietetics courses by adding content from basic sciences, basic medical sciences and social sciences. During the first 3 years of the program, we mostly have theoretical courses, however, they are supported by applications. In our laboratories, students can practice the theoretical knowledge they acquire in the classes. So, during their class discussions, they have an idea and knowledge in terms of the causes and consequences of the subject matters. We have 3 main laboratory courses between the 1st and 3rd grades. The first of these is the nutrition principles laboratory. In this course, students learn how cooking processes, heat treatments and decompositions affect foods, and by supporting this with courses on biochemistry and principles of nutrition, they discuss what effects a food can have on a person. Likewise, the food chemistry laboratory helps students to learn the composition, structure, and reactions of a food with other chemicals. Finally, we have an anthropometry laboratory. Evaluation of the nutritional status of people from some measurable values such as height, body weight, waist circumference, and muscle strength can provide us with valuable information. Here, while we are evaluating the present state of the people, we may shed some light on the possible future situations. Except for the first 3 years, the undergraduate program of nutrition and dietetics requires 840 hours of practical training as an international principle. We perform most of these trainings in the hospitals of Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, in the kitchens and cafeterias of Trakya University, as well as in health institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Health such as Public Hospitals, community health centers, and family medicine clinics in order to reach the people.
Within the possibilities provided by Trakya University, nutrition and dietetics students can also participate in student exchange programs such as Erasmus exchange program. Also, they may benefit from Mevlana and Farabi exchange programs within national and international scopes. Such programs can be beneficial because students also have the opportunity to experience different practices in different schools while socializing and working with their future colleagues. Trakya University Nutrition and Dietetics Department organizes a symposium every year on certain topics. The purpose of these symposiums is to provide up-to-date information to our new graduates, senior students and other interested colleagues. The content and the data generated by these events are collected in order to achieve a better understanding on the subject matters. In 2022, as a department, we will host the 3rd International Nutrition and Dietetics Congress. In addition, we organize up-to-date nutrition meetings for our students with the contributions of our student club. We organize career days. In order for our students to benefit, we host leading people in the field for these organizations. As I just said, the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics trains leaders who guide conscious eating behavior. In this sense, we can say that wherever people are eating, there are job opportunities for dietitians. If you want a concrete example, of course, all kinds of health institutions provide inpatient or outpatient treatment. Nursing homes, orphanages, various catering establishments in the state or private sector, food factories, gyms, as well as academic career opportunities are available to our students after graduation. Nutrition and dietetics is a profession that will never lose its currency. So, I know the demands are very high. However, it should not be forgotten that nutrition and dietetics is not only a field of interest, but also a field of science. For this reason, my biggest suggestion to students who are considering this department and to our prospective students who will come here would be: Please check the nutrition and dietetics staffs on the websites of universities and Nutrition and Dietetics Departments. A profession can best be learned from a competent member of that profession in the right place. Although we have ties with medicine, food engineering, and veterinary medicine, we are very different professions. Please examine the academic staff, look at the course schedules, and decide which department you will choose by assessing these. I believe that being a student of Trakya University will make important contributions to your careers. The city of Edirne has an important historical value. One of them is that it used to be the capital of Ottoman Empire, and the other is that Edirne connects the silk and spice route between Europe and Anatolia. Therefore, it offers a culturally rich environment. Because all cultures in the Balkan countries share certain nutritional habits that they have borrowed from each other. Both intellectually and scientifically, Edirne offers a valuable environment. We consider the students in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Trakya University as future colleagues and we train them accordingly. We try to be meticulous about this. We expect the same sensitivity from our students. We want them to consider their time in here not just as taking courses, but as receiving valuable information that they will use throughout their professional lives. We look forward to seeing you among us and I wish you success in your exams.