Career Advice - Dietitian Career Path | Career Advice and Help Australia CareerNav

Career Advice - Dietitian Career Path

Posted: Mon 30th November 2009 | Author: | Comments: [0]

The diverse range of job opportunities and working conditions for dietitians will enable you to develop a wide variety of interests and skills and use them in many different situations. Here are some specializations available to you once you are qualified;

Patient care - Working as part of a health care team in hospitals and nursing homes, dietitians are responsible for assessing the nutritional needs of patients, planning appropriate diets and educating patients and their families.
Community nutrition and public health - Dietitians are involved in nutrition and health education programs. This can be at the local community level or for the population at a national level. You’re working in public health also assist with health planning, setting nutritional standards, and developing and implementing nutrition policies.
Food service and management - Dietitians combine management skills and nutrition expertise when delivering food services in hospitals, nursing homes, meals on wheels, hospitality and catering. You also manage nutrition services and health programs.
Consultancy/private practice - Dietitians provide consultancy services to individuals, groups and organisations which include individual counselling, group programs, preventive health programs and nutrition education. You also prepare nutritional information for publication, and work with the media and in public relations.
Food industry - Dietitians working in the food industry are involved in food regulatory issues (food law), food safety and quality systems, consumer and health professional education, nutrition research, product development, nutrition-related marketing and public relations.
Research and teaching - Dietitians work as part of research teams investigating nutrition and health issues and developing practical nutrition recommendations. You are also involved in training student dietitians, doctors and other health professionals.
Other fields - Dietitians are able to transfer their skills to other fields such as management, public relations, marketing, program management, communications, media, health promotion, policy development and information technology.