Becoming a Dietitian
Several career
paths are available.
Registered Dietitian
To become a
Registered Dietitian (RD), you need to complete at least a
bachelor’s degree from a U.S. regionally-accredited college
or university that uses dietetics coursework and a
supervised practice program accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE), the
accrediting body for the American Dietetic Association. In
addition, you must pass the registration exam for
dietitians.
Class work can include college courses in food and
nutrition science, foodservice systems managements,
economics, culinary arts, anatomy and physiology,
chemistry, microbiology, and communication. The supervised
practice programs, also referred to as dietetic
internships, contain a minimum of 1,200 supervised practice
hours. Students gain hands-on experience in a variety of
settings under the supervision of preceptors. The programs
typically range in length from 10 to 12 months. Some
programs offer distance learning courses.
There are two ways to complete the educational
requirements:
1. Complete a CADE-accredited Coordinated Program in
Dietetics (CPD). This type of program offers both the
required coursework and the supervised practice along with
at least a bachelor's degree.
2. Complete a CADE-accredited Didactic Program in in
Dietetics (DPD). This type of program offers only the
required coursework, along with at least a bachelor's
degree. After you complete the DPD, you must also apply to
and successfully complete a CADE-accredited Dietetic
Internship.
Specialized Training and Advanced
Degrees
RDs can get
additional certifications in such specialized areas as
diabetes education, nutrition support and pediatric or
renal nutrition. Master’s degrees and PhDs are available
under such names as “nutrition” or ”human nutrition” and
“food science” or “nutrition science.” Some dietitians find
it is helpful to earn a complementary degree in such fields
as management, public health or education.
Dietetic
Technicians
Dietetic
Technicians (DTRs) hold an associate-level degree and
typically work under the supervision of a Registered
Dietitian or nutritionist. In addition to dietetic course
work, you need at least 450 hours of supervised practical
experience at a CADE-accredited Dietetic Technician
program. Graduates of these programs are eligible to take
the Registration Examination for Dietetic Technicians.
Advice
for Students Who Want to be Dietitians
Juanita (“Kit”)
Hines, Menominee,
RD, LD, recommends that prospective dietitians take
classes in food production, nutrition and management.
Meriah Gille, Choctaw/Cherokee/Siouan,
RD says, “Becoming a dietitian is pretty competitive, so
stay strong in science and math. Don’t opt out of
courses, even if you can. Stay strong in computers. They
are a major part of the future in health care.”
Brenda
Bodnar, Carrier
Tribe First Nations, RD, CDE, stresses the importance of
good study and reading skills. At times, during her
training, she was overwhelmed by all that she had to
learn. “I decided to focus on one semester at a time,”
she said. “Each time I completed a class, I was one step
closer to my goal.”
Valora Tom, Navajo,
RD, suggests being involved with programs that focus on
science and math, such as AISES or Upward Bound. “Learn
about your culture, including your food culture,” she
says. “To see what the work is like, shadow a
dietitian.”
Native-Focused
Internships
To be eligible
for the following dietetic internships, candidates must
have completed a didactic program in dietetics and earned
at least a bachelor’s degree.
Southwestern
Dietetic Internship Consortium
The
Southwestern Dietetic Internship, offered by Phoenix Indian
Medical Center (PIMC) and Kayenta Health Center, is
designed to prepare dietetic professionals to work in both
urban and rural American Indian communities. Interns have a
wide range of supervised experiences at PIMC - a hospital
that provides comprehensive health care services for
American Indian people from over 30 tribes. Working with
interdisciplinary teams, interns offer nutritional support
and education to hospitalized patients with such problems
as malnutrition and the complications of advanced diabetes.
Interns spend time in relevant parts of the hospital,
including the pharmacy and the food service department
where they learn about all aspects of managing a large food
service operation. Interns have hands-on experiences in the
PIMC outpatient clinic and also travel to field clinics and
participate in nutrition programs at six different tribal
locations in the Phoenix area.
To complement their urban experiences, for six weeks,
interns experience the challenges and rewards of providing
nutrition education and care in rural Kayenta, which is
located on the Navajo Reservation. They also participate in
the administration of health programs for this population
that doesn’t have access to much fresh produce and includes
households that do not have electricity and running
water.
(See the profile of Valora Tom who
completed the internship.)
For
more information contact
Southwestern Dietetic Internship Consortium
Edith M Clark,
MBA, RD, CDE
602/263-1532
Fax: 602/263-1649
E-Mail: edith.clark2@ihs.gov
University
of Alaska Dietetic Internship
Registered
dietitians are in high demand in Alaska. The UAA Dietetic
Internship, through its concentration in Alaska Native
culture and the Alaska healthcare delivery system, helps
prepare dietitians to work in both urban and rural areas in
Alaska. After a two-week orientation, which includes an
introduction to Alaskan Native foods and customs, interns
work and learn for three weeks in rural communities. When
they return to Anchorage for the balance of their
nine-month internship, they are assigned to one of the
three hospitals in Anchorage. All interns continue to care
for Alaskan Native people, particularly if they are based
at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Having experienced
slow-paced rural communities, interns better understand the
challenges facing Alaskan Natives who have had to leave
their homes to get medical care in a big hospital in the
relatively fast-paced city of Anchorage where people speak
quickly.
For more information contact:
University of Alaska Dietetic
Internship
Carrie King, Cherokee, MS, RD, LD, CDE
907/786-1362
Fax: 907/786-1402
E-Mail: afcdk@uaa.alaska.edu
This
article was originally published in the Summer, 2009
issue of
Winds of Change. (The cover
artist is William Rabbit, Cherokee.)