Dietitian or Nutritionist

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A dietitian or nutritionist could...

Overview Listen to this section

Ever wondered who plans the school lunch, food for patients at a hospital, or the meals for athletes at the Olympics? The answer is dietitians and nutritionists! A dietitian or nutritionist's job is to supervise the planning and preparation of meals to ensure that people—like students, patients, and athletes—are getting the right foods to make them as healthy and as strong as possible. Some dietitians and nutritionists also work to educate people about good food choices so they can cook and eat their own healthy meals.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Dietitian or Nutritionist?

1. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
2. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
3. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
4. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
5. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

6. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
7. Service Orientation: ? Actively looking for ways to help people.
8. Writing: ? Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
9. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
10. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Dietitian or Nutritionist might do:

• Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
• Evaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.
• Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
• Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
• Incorporate patient cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences and needs in the development of nutrition plans.
• Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
• Record and evaluate patient and family health and food history, including symptoms, environmental toxic exposure, allergies, medication factors, and preventive health-care measures.
• Develop recipes and menus to address special nutrition needs, such as low glycemic, low histamine, or gluten- or allergen-free.
• Coordinate diet counseling services.
• Develop curriculum and prepare manuals, visual aids, course outlines, and other materials used in teaching.
• Plan and conduct training programs in dietetics, nutrition, and institutional management and administration for medical students, health-care personnel, and the general public.
• Plan, conduct, and evaluate dietary, nutritional, and epidemiological research.
• Write research reports and other publications to document and communicate research findings.