I hope you’re reading this! The contact form didn’t work properly so all I got was your subject line. It didn’t capture your name or email, so here I am trying to find you in blogosphere. Please fill out the contact form again (it works now!) – I’ll do my best to answer whatever inquiry you might have had. :)
During the “research phase” of deciding whether or not I should enter the field of nutrition, I solicited the advice of several RDs to get their perspective on the matter. This is what one friend had to say:
There is so much to say about the field of dietetics, but I can give you a little glimpse of what it’s like to be an RD. There are pretty much 3 different directions you can pursue: 1) administration, 2) community, 3) clinical.
Administration allows for more career growth, and obviously more money in the long run if you want to advance far in a hospital or school setting. This includes management, budgeting, policy writing, etc etc. At the entry level, administrative dietitians will provide menu planning in a hospital setting, working with vendors, obtaining patient satisfactions, and some management for kitchen staff. This requires almost no patient encounters and interactions.
Community nutrition settings include schools, clinics, and public health clinics.. This may include fighting in the government policy level, program implementation for communities, policy writing, and grant writing. You will be able to affect change in a larger scale if you like. Usually, dietitians who are in outpatient education are included in this category. They work in hospital or clinic and work with patients 1:1 or conduct classes to educate them on disease-specific nutrition-related issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, etc etc.
Clinical nutrition settings are usually in hospitals or long-term care facilities. This is the setting I’ve been working for the last 3 years. In the hospital setting, there’s an interdisciplinary component where you are working with doctors, nurses, speech therapist, social workers to care fo a patient. The goal is to optimize the patient’s nutrition status. You see a variety of patients and make recommendations based on anthropometric measures, labs, medical history, and diagnoses. You also a wider variety of things such as, patient education, recommendations for tubefeedings/IV feedings rates, and making sure the patient is eating well. So far, I’ve been enjoying the clinical side as it is very challenging; there’s always more to learn and interesting cases to see! However, I’m actually in the process of possibly transferring to the clinic side, as the working schedule in the hospital settings require you to work certain weekends and holidays. I think for my personal well-being a more structured schedule is better for me.
I hope this gives you some insight to what RDs do. Please feel free to email me more with any questions!
This was so helpful for me! I didn’t know that RDs were so prominent in so many different fields. There are plenty of options out there for those like me who are considering this career path.
Its been decided. I’m going to pursue that career as a Registered Dietitian! You might remember my doubts about this, but after attending Loma Linda’s Open House on Sunday… my hubby and I both agreed it was a feat that could be done.
This post is gonna be a headache for you. Bear with me.
Prior to attending the Open House, I was confused about what track I should apply for. Loma Linda offers two Nutrition tracks – one through their School of Allied Sciences and the other through their School of Public Health. The School of Allied Sciences gives you a Master’s of Science (M.S.) in Nutrition. The School of Public Health leads you to a Master’s in Public Health (M.P.H.) with an emphasis in Nutrition & Dietetics. Both can get me that desired R.D. title. After the info session, I decided that I want to apply for Loma Linda’s M.P.H. program.
Some things I learned about it…
What I liked about Loma Linda was their desire to be hands on with their students. They don’t just let you loose to sink or swim once you enter their program. After a useless liberal arts education at UC Irvine, I knew this was what I wanted. Loma Linda also does a lot of missions trips around the world to help nations without good medical resources. Did I also tell you that if I become a student, all my medical and dental expenses will be free of charge?? What a perk.
Now comes the tough part of doing well in my prereqs and actually getting accepted into the program. My 2nd choice school would be Cal State LA’s M.S. in Nutrition. Loma Linda and CalStateLA are the only 2 schools in California that offers a CADE-accredited Nutrition program that also includes supervised practice.
Why do I want to stay in-state? Tuition costs for out of state students are DOUBLE those in-state. Yikes!! I don’t have that kind of money to burn.
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time on the ADA (American Dietetic Association) website researching what it takes to become a Registered Dietitian (RD). That is where my true passion lies – helping myself as well as others make healthier decisions for their lives. Sometimes I wish I had the guts to pursue this career path earlier… like oh, say, maybe when I was an undergrad. For those who knew they wanted to become an RD early on, all they had to do was graduate with a B.S. in Nutrition, complete a CADE-accredited supervised program, and pass the RD national exam. I feel like I lost precious, wasted time by avoiding those darn science classes earlier on.
It’s funny how life throws curveballs at you, I feel like I am at that same crossroads time and again – that confusing yet necessary place that we all submit to at the many, various points in our life. We all know that place. That place where we’re left wondering (again), what next?
I’m at my life’s crossroad again. Currently unemployed (due to the economy), yet halfway through an MBA. Do I continue the job search and focus on what I’ve been doing the last 4 years of my life? (Project Management). The MBA will help me regardless if I get that second Master’s in Nutrition. Or despite all that, should I pursue a career in Dietetics – requiring another 3-4 years devoted to a rigorous, science-heavy curriculum. Can my husband’s lone income sustain the both of us while I go and pursue my heart’s desire? Will the outcome outweigh the costs? Decisions Decisions. They’re neverending…
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awesome. i had to quit after ending up in urgent care during bikram hah. .-= Lisa-Anne´s last...