Becoming a Registered Dietitian

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of dietitians is expected to grow by 20 percent between the years of 2010 and 2020. This is a much faster rate than the average of all other occupations due to the increased emphasis on disease prevention, a growing aging population and public interest in nutrition.

Registered Dietitians (RD) are known as food and nutrition experts that work in a wide variety of employment settings. Some of the common settings are in health care, education, government agencies and public health offices. Faster growth of employment opportunities are anticipated in nursing homes, residential care facilities and physician clinics in the upcoming years. The main responsibility in this role is to evaluate the health of each client and make nutritional recommendations to improve their client’s health. However, additional responsibilities come with the territory such as counseling patients on nutrition issues, developing meal plans, researching nutritional science and documenting patients’ progress.

If you are interested in exploring this career path , I recommend looking into UMass Amherst’s new Concurrent Dietetic Internship/Online Master of Public Health in Nutrition Program (DI/MPH-N).

Additionally, I found this step-by-step online guide to becoming a registered dietitian that I think might be a helpful resource.