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How do I become a dietitian?
I am always very passionate about food and nutrition. I knew my passion for nutrition education very early on in my university life. I studied Nutrition degree at University of British Columbia. At the 3rd year, I applied for Dietetics Major. It was not a easy process. I remember at that time, UBC only admitted about 30 students every year into the dietetics program. UBC Dietetics program ranks students based on GPA, work experience, and interview. My GPA overall is pretty good. For my work experience, I have worked at Agriculture Canada that time as a research assistant for 8 months. I also worked at Maxxam Analytics as a lab assistant for 8 months as my Coop job. For nutrition and dietetics related work experience, I worked for BC Children's hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital, Maple Ridge Hospital, and Minoru residence (a long-term care facility) as a food service supervisor. As a food service supervisor for hospitals and care facilities, I work closely with clinical dietitians and manage staff in delivering healthy meals to patients. Based on all these experiences, I got admitted to Dietetics degree.
It requires another 2 years studying at UBC to finish dietetics courses. After that, we need to complete an one-year internship. I did my internship at Royal Columbia Hospital for the the clinical rotation and supervised practice. I had practicum rotations at diabetes program, general medicine ward, renal hemodialysis program, oncology, emergency, surgery, and neurological ward to learn a varieties of medical nutrition therapy and health conditions.
After finishing the school and internship, we need to complete the Canadian Dietetic Registration Examination (CDRE) to be registered as a dietitian. Dietitians are licensed health professionals with College of Dietitians.
What does a dietitian do?
A registered dietitian is a qualified health professional who specializes in nutrition. Dietitians' primary role is to provide evidence-based nutrition advice to support clients to eat well, meet their nutrient goals, prevent chronic health diseases, and support overall well-being.
What does that look like for a dietitian's job?
Assess Nutritional Needs
Dietitians need to able to understand and evaluate a client's dietary habits, interpret blood test result, and assess nutritional requirements.
Develop Personalized Meal Plans
Dietitian will help with creating customized nutrition plans to meet specific health goals, such as weight loss and muscle gain. Dietitian are trained health professionals to support medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and etc. In terms of the difference between dietitian and nutritionist, dietitians receive clinical trainings and more experienced in medical conditions.
Where do dietitians work?
It varies. Many dietitians work in health care settings such as hospitals, long term care home, medical clinic, community programs, or in private practice.
Clinical Settings: Provide nutrition care in hospitals, medical clinics, or long-term care homes.
Community Health: Promote public health through programs in schools, government agencies, or non-profits organizations.
Private Practice: Offer one-on-one consultations for personalized nutrition advice.
Food Industry or hospitality
What is the difference between registered dietitian, nutritionist, and RD?
In British Columbia (BC), the terms Registered Dietitian (RD) and Nutritionist are often used interchangeably. RDs are regulated healthcare professionals governed by the College of Dietitians of British Columbia (CDBC). To be a dietitian (registered dietitian, or RD), it requires dietetic registration and must meet strict educational and professional standards to practice. The title "Nutritionist" is not regulated in BC, meaning anyone can call themselves a nutritionist regardless of their qualifications.
Cheers,
Elaine Dietitian
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