Registered Dietitians can answer to many different names...RD, Dietitian, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Nutritionist. We also answer to names we don't really want...Nutritionalist, Dietician (old school way of spelling that is no longer acceptable for some reason), Dietary...the list goes on and people seem to come up with new, interesting terms every day. I wonder why there seems to be confusion behind the RD name. We don't confuse nurses, doctors or many other healthcare professionals, so why RDs? The answer is probably because many people in the general public do not know what an RD is or what an RD does...and that's okay! To make it even more confusing, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently decided to let Dietitians to choose their title between Registered Dietitian and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Say what?! It's our job to let people know what we RDs (or RDNs) are all about.
RDs are relatively new to the healthcare world. The first RD ever was Sarah Tyson Rorer and she practiced in the late 1800s, mostly as a cook and teacher. Dietitians started to really make their mark during World War I, and after the war the American Dietetic Association was born. This organization is now called the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals in the United States. Every RD I know is a member of the Academy, as it is a great tool for networking, continuing education, and staying on top of trending topics. A pretty interesting timeline of the academy can be found here at the Academy History Timeline webpage.
Enough of the history lesson. Let's get down to business. The definition of a Registered Dietitian, according to the Academy, is a food and nutrition expert who has met the following criteria to earn the RDN credential:
· Completed a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at a US regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
· Completed an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program at a health-care facility, community agency, or a foodservice corporation or combined with undergraduate or graduate studies. Typically, a practice program will run six to 12 months in length.
· Passed a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). For more information regarding the examination, refer to CDR’s website at www.cdrnet.org.
· Completed continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.
Many Dietitians, like myself, also obtain master's degrees as well as additional credentials for specialized fields of nutrition. These specialized fields may be diabetes, pediatrics, nutrition support, renal nutrition, and weight management. One of my favorite things about Dietitians is that we can work in tons of different places. Areas of practice include but are not limited to hospitals, outpatient centers, schools and universities, public health, private practice, dialysis centers, corporate wellness programs, sports nutrition, research, writing, teaching, eating disorder recovery centers, and foodservice. Especially in clinical settings, RDs are there to be the nutrition experts so doctors and nurses don't have to be. In fact, did you know that doctors aren't even required to take one course in nutrition? While that boggles my mind a bit, doctors have tons of other things to focus on in patient care. So let us RDs take care of the nutrition piece and you take care of the saving the lives piece, doctors! We can help patients work through nutrition-related side effects of illnesses and medications, manage feeding tubes, help patients figure out to what foods they have sensitivities or allergies, calculate energy and hydration needs, find high calorie, nutritious foods for patients losing weight, educate patients on food safety and lots of other food-related topics, and, most importantly, give a laundry list of ideas for flavors, meals, snacks, drinks, you name it!
What are Dietitians NOT? We're not the food police. We're not here to tell people what not to eat, what foods are "bad" and what foods are "good", or judge people for their eating and drinking habits. I am 100% judgement-free of all eaters of the world. I love to eat, and I want everyone else to love to eat, too. Food is delicious. Food is fun. Food is personal and has the ability to create memories. What I really love the most about being an RD is helping people realize that all foods can fit into a healthy diet, and I mean ALL foods. Depriving yourself of a particular food is only going to make you want that food more, so why not just enjoy it so you don't crave it so much?! The issue is all about balance...balance between nourishing your body with healthful foods and treating your mouth hole to delicious sugar, butter, salt and other yummy flavors every once in awhile. Many people experience an imbalance in their nutrition and find themselves feeling less than their best. Food has the power to make a person feel like a million bucks, and it also has the power to make a person feel like zero bucks. One of my goals is to help people find the foods that make them feel and perform their best.
Now that I've introduced you to both myself and the field of Dietetics, I think it is time to start delving into the good stuff. I'm excited to start writing about trending nutrition topics, nutrition science, and all things food!
Until next time...
-Brittany
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