Dietitian / Nutritionist

Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Clinical Dietician; Clinical Dietitian; Clinical Nutritionist; Dietitian; Nutritionist; Oncology Dietitian; Outpatient Dietitian; Registered Dietician; Registered Dietitian; Renal Dietitian

Tasks

• 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, conduct, and evaluate dietary, nutritional, and epidemiological research.
• Plan and conduct training programs in dietetics, nutrition, and institutional management and administration for medical students, health-care personnel, and the general public.
• Write research reports and other publications to document and communicate research findings.

Knowledge

• Biology
• Medicine and Dentistry
• Therapy and Counseling
• English Language
• Customer and Personal Service
• Psychology
• Education and Training
• Mathematics
• Computers and Electronics
• Chemistry
• Sociology and Anthropology
• Food Production

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Monitoring
• Learning Strategies
• Active Learning
• Science
• Mathematics

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Written Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Speech Clarity
• Category Flexibility
• Information Ordering
• Speech Recognition
• Originality
• Near Vision
• Fluency of Ideas
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Number Facility
• Selective Attention