A dietician is a person or a doctor who gives other people advice about the kind of food they should eat to stay healthy. We will present Dietician Job Description here. Dieticians not only advise their patients but educate them about what nutrition is required to stay fit.
Dieticians are health professionals who study everything about food and its nutritional value. There are several types of dieticians or nutritionists. Dieticians often work in a group or on an individual basis with people of all ages. They have a long list of responsibilities to fulfill for their patients.
Dietician Job Description 2021
In simple words, Dietician plans the exact food and the nutrition that is needed for a patients’ body. It is planned to help prevent and treat diseases by promoting healthy eating habits.
Steps to become a dietician or nutritionist
The study of food is called Food Science. Food Science is a multidisciplinary field that involves all sorts of science such as biochemistry, nutrition values, engineering, and a few more. It is studied to solve real problems that are associated with many facets of the entire food system.
Food Science may focus only on foods’ nutrition values and health benefits but it is divided into broad categories. The same is with becoming a dietician one should have a keen interest to study the nutritional value of foods around the world.
Here are the clear requirements of how to become a dietician.
- Bachelor’s degree- This is the first step that is required to become a dietician. One needs to complete a bachelor’s degree and should receive a verification statement from an ACEND-accredited program.
- ACEND-accredited practice- Then comes the practice and training for ACEND which needs to be completed by the candidate. Some of the programs are dietetic internship programs or Individual Supervised Practice Pathway are the options.
The Supervised Practice/training is also combined with the Coordinated Program, Future Graduate Program, and International Dietetic Education Program.
- Dietetic Registration Exam- Dietetic Registration conducts a dietetic registration exam that should be passed by the candidate.
- Achieve license- Acquire the license in your state of practice, if you have passed all the requirements and tests.
- Continuation of education- Gaining of license does not mean there is a discontinuation of your education. Gain as much knowledge and education related to the field as you can.
These steps are enough for an individual to fulfill the requirements to become a dietician. Additionally, it will be much better if you look for internships related to the field. Having previous work experience is always appreciated by any industry, company, factory, hospital around the world.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Dietician
Here are some of the duties that a dietician needs to follow in his or her daily work.
- Dieticians or nutritionists need to speak to patients to learn about their health goals and what problems they are facing. As per their problem, the dietician should be making the right dietary needs, preferences, and restrictions.
- The dietician also has to offer dietetic educational services to his or her patients.
- Dieticians need to develop the right nutrition plan for their clients as per their health requirements.
- The dietician also needs to compile all the information and track the client’s progress towards their health benefits and goals.
- They need to enter the clients’ information and details in the company’s database.
- They need to educate the clients about the latest information and discoveries in the nutrition world.
- Sometimes they need to promote healthy eating habits for the right nutrition to a large number of groups. This is one of the most efficient ways of educating a large number of groups for the right nutrition that is needed for an individual.
- They should keep in mind that dietetic plans will differ from person to person as their previous health records. The dietician needs to check the client’s previous health record before planning out a diet chart for them.
These were some of the duties that need to be fulfilled by a dietician. Dieticians and nutritionists mostly work in groups to help educate the ones who lack knowledge about food nutrition that is required.
Skills Required For a Dietician
To handle different patients and clients from all over the country, dieticians need to have all sorts of skills related to the field. Instead, they also need certain soft skills to work or communicate effectively with the patients.
Here are some of the skills required in a dietician to work effectively and properly in a workplace.
- Mindful listening skill- The dietician needs to listen carefully to what his or her clients are trying to explain. Clients are happy when they have carefully listened, especially when the problem is related to health issues, dietary concerns, or any other issues.
Listening carefully to the clients will automatically help the dietician to understand the problem better and provide the right advice.
- Communication skills- Communication skill is the topmost skill that is required for a dietician. The nutritional advice would be useless if nobody understands it well or follows it. Dieticians must be able to talk, make a client understand clearly and effectively.
Good communication skills not only help clients understand better but save a lot of time for the dietician and clients as well. Not only oral but visual, verbal, written or some other combinations are highly demanded in a dieticians’ world.
- Technological skills- Basic computer skills are necessary for any dietician around the world. With basic computer skills, the dietician will be able to conduct research and gather the latest information, communicate with their colleagues or clients, and input all the data relating to clients’ dietary plans.
In some cases, they may use some software to provide educational materials to the clients’ or patients.
- Time management, punctual and organizational skills- No one likes to wait in this world and that does not show a good personality. The same is with dieticians they have to be punctual with their patients.
Often there might be a heavy and risky case where the dieticians need to manage the time well and organize it better to reduce stress.
- Teaching skills- As we know that dieticians should educate their clients or patients for health benefits. To educate or give out information to the clients, the dietician should have good teaching skills.
Good teaching skill is important because of the patient’s overall nutritional achievement.
- Work unaccompanied- Dieticians spend most of their time working with different types of clients and other caregivers. The dietician needs to be able to meet with clients, solve and evaluate problems, or any other cases all independently.
- Decision-making skills- A dietician should be able to make the right decision whenever a case comes in. This is because sometimes life depends on what nutrition is required for the client.
How Much Does A Dietician Make?
As per a few reports from 2019, Dieticians made a median salary of $61,270 annually. The highest-paid dieticians made $74,900 the same year while the lowest-paid made $50,220. As of August 12, 2021 reports say that the average base salary per hour of a dietician is $30.92 in the United States of America.
Additionally, the more experience the more is the salary of any dietician in the country. The hourly rate rises more than 10 dollars compared to the average hourly rate of a dietician. Below is a table representing salaries by the years of experience in the United States of America.
| Years of experience | Rate per hour |
| Less than 1 year | $26,47 |
| Between 1 to 2 years | $27.73 |
| Between 3 to 5 years | NA |
| Between 6 to 9 years | $39.33 |
| More than 10 years | $41.31 |
To gain more experience in the field one needs to start early and take an active part in internship programs or any other certified training programs.
The top 10% annual salary of dieticians in the country is $83,070 which is $39.93 per hour. The salary for the bottom 10% is $36,910 annually which is $17.74 per hour. Additionally, the average hourly rate greatly depends on the cities in the country. A detailed rate for such is given in the table below:-
| City | Hourly Rate |
| New York | $39.59 |
| Baltimore | $36.20 |
| Richmond | $35.98 |
| Las Vegas | $37.96 |
| San Antonio | $34.32 |
| Los Angeles | $35.37 |
| Dallas | $32.10 |
| Houston | $33.24 |
As per the table given above, we can see that the average hourly rate is not the same but they are very closely related to each other.
Conclusion
Health or medical-related work is always highly appreciated as they are the original caretakers when we are ill. There is no work in the world where hard work, efficiency, and skills are not needed and the same is with the job of a dietician. If you have a keen interest in what you want to become then there is nothing that can stop you from achieving it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the average salary range of a dietician in a year?
Answer- The median salary range of a dietician is $61,270 annually.
- Is the job of a dietician very stressful?
Answer- Dieticians around the world have one of the least stressful jobs out there. In some cases, they do need to deal with intense or risky cases. Overall, it is the job of the dietician to advise who is in need and the client to listen and work on them.
- Is the job of a Dietician better or a nutritionist?
Answer- The job for both the professions is quite the same with no much difference. They both help patients to find the best diet and required foods to meet their health needs but, they have different qualifications. Fortunately, in the United States of America, dieticians are legally certified to treat clinical conditions, whereas nutritionists are not always certified in the country.
- How long does it take to become a well-paid dietician?
Answer- On average it takes four to eight years to become a dietician, sometimes even more than that to become one of the registered dieticians in the country. But, this greatly depends on the career path and your state or district.
