CAREERS

Careers in Nutrition and Dietetics

Registered dietitians work in a wide variety of professional fields, including health care, business and industry, public health, education, research, and private practice.

Many work organizations, particularly those in medical and health care settings, require that an individual be credentialed as an RD.

RDs work in:

  • Community and public health settings, teaching, monitoring, and advising the public, and helping to improve their quality of life through healthy eating habits as was as planning public health programs.
  • Hospitals, HMOs, or other health care facilities, educating and counseling patients on nutrition and administering medical nutrition therapy as part of the health care team. They may also manage the foodservice operations in these settings, as well as in schools, day-care centers, and correctional facilities, and oversee a number of areas from food purchasing and preparation to managing staff.
  • Sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, educating and counseling clients about the connection between food, fitness, and health.
  • Food and nutrition-related businesses and industries, working in communications, consumer affairs, public relations, marketing, pharmaceutical companies, or product development.
  • Private practice and consulting, working under contract with physician's offices, health care food service companies, or in private practice. RDs may provide services to foodservice or restaurant managers, food vendors, distributors, athletes, nursing home residents, or company employees.
  • Universities and medical centers, teaching physicians, nurses, and dietetics students, and others the sophisticated science of nutrition and foods.
  • Research areas in food and pharmaceutical companies, universities, and hospitals, directing or conducting experiments to answer critical nutrition questions and find alternative foods or nutrition recommendations for the public.

Further education opportunities for dietetic students include:

  • Graduate school
  • Dentistry
  • Medical school

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Last updated: April 14, 2003, 2003
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