DIETITIAN JOB

A registered dietitian is uniquely qualified to translate scientific information about food into practical dietary advice for people on normal and therapeutic diets. As well as providing impartial advice about nutrition and promoting a healthy diet, dietitians offer advice on food-related problems and are involved in the diagnosis and dietary treatment of disease. Many dietitians work in the National Health Service where their role is varied. They may focus on specialist areas, such as diabetes or children's health, and may also work in community settings.

Other dietitians work in the food industry, sport, the media, education and research. Work activities vary widely between individual jobs and the areas of employment. For example, community dietitians and those working in public health may see a much wider range of patients in a variety of settings. The activities a dietitian may be involved in include: educating and advising a wide range of patients with diet-related disorders on the practical ways in which they can improve their health by adopting healthier eating habits translating the science of nutrition into everyday information about food.

Calculating patients' nutritional requirements using standard equations based on assessments of blood chemistry, temperature, stress, mobility and other relevant factors, Analyzing the nutritional content of food, advising hospital catering departments about the specific dietary requirements of patients running clinics in hospital outpatients departments or general practitioners' surgeries for patients who have been referred by hospital consultants educating other health care professionals (doctors, nurses, biochemists, social workers, care workers and community workers) about food and nutrition issues, writing articles for local and national newspapers and newsletters.

Delivering group sessions to children and patient groups, working as part of a multidisciplinary team in hospitals or in a community setting to gain patients' co-operation in following recommended dietary treatments, advising athletes and sportspersons on how diet can optimize performance and recovery from exercise, educating sportspersons to understand the physiology and biochemistry of different types of exercise and the role nutrition has in these processes, writing reports and case notes and maintaining accurate records, carrying out visits to people's homes, including nursing homes.