A dietitian or a nutritionist is a person who has earned at least a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, foods and dietetics. A Dietitian Job Description; A person who can work in nursing care facilities, hospitals, and offices of physicians and he or she can contribute with his work by promoting healthy eating habits in people. The dietitian is obligated to create the daily nutrition menu for the patients in the hospital, facility or office. However the dietitian and nutritionist employment growth is rising faster than expected. The employment growth may be constrained only if the employers substitute the other workers for dietitians or if they have placed limitations on the insurance reimbursement for dietetic services. Dietitians who are specialized in training for renal or diabetic diets and have a master’s degree have great chances to enjoy the good employment opportunities.
Dietitian types of work
A dietitian’s job is to provide a plan food and nutrition programs as well as to supervise the preparation and serving of meals. Their job is to prevent and treat illnesses by promoting the healthy habits and recommending dietary modifications. For example they can prepare a list of meals with reduced salt for patients who have high blood pressure or they can prepare a meal without fat or sugar intake for patients who are overweight. Their job is to manage the food service systems for institutions such as hospitals, nurse home facilities and schools. The needs of dietitian and nutritionist services are increased because of the huge numbers of people who suffer from chronic disease and people who are overweight. Major areas of practice for young dietitians and nutritionist include: community, management, consultant and clinical dietetics.
Clinical dietetics:
They provide their services for patients who are localized in institutions such as hospitals or nursing care facilities. The dietitian is the only person who can assess the patients’ nutritional needs; he can develop and implement a new nutrition program. After the implementation is done his job is to evaluate this program and report the results. They work side by side with the doctors and other health care professionals to coordinate the medical and nutritional needs.
Community dietitians:
They advise individuals and groups who want to upgrade or change their nutritional habits in order to prevent disease and promote health. They work in public places such as home health agencies, health organizations and public health clinics.
Management dietitians: they oversee the large-scale meal planning and the food preparation in the company cafeterias, prisons, health care facilities and schools. Their job is to:
- Hire and train other dietitians and foods service workers
- Plan the budget, equipment, supplies and food
- Enforce sanitary and safety regulation
- Prepare records and reports
Consultant dietitians:
They can work under contract with the health care facilities or they can own their own private practice. Their job is to perform nutrition screenings for clients and advice their clients on diet-related concerns. The wellness programs, sports teams, supermarkets and some other nutrition-related nosiness are perfect example what the consultant dietitians can do.
Qualifications
High school students interested to become dietitians or nutritionists should take courses in biology, health, chemistry and communications. You will need at least bachelor’s degree in dietetics, food service management, food and nutrition or other related areas.
College students interested to become dietitians may consider about taking courses in foods, institution management, biology, chemistry, physiology and microbiology.
The Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) awards the registered dietitian credential only to those students who passed the dietitian exam and to those who have completed their academic coursework and supervised experience.
Jobs & Salaries
The job outlook for people who want to work as dietitians or nutritionists is promising to grow faster than the average. The new 2020 is promising a result of increasing emphasis on disease prevention through dietary habits. Every facility, school or clinic is streamed towards an improved meal menu, disease prevention and people to lose weight and improve eating habits.
The median annual earnings of dietitians and nutritionists was $60,370 in 2018, how high do you think your income will be in the new 2021?
