Becoming a Nutritionist/Dietician

Before we delve in becoming a Nutritionist, there’s a very important question you need to ask yourself:
What’s my goal?

• Do you desire to understand how food works in the body? To discover how nutrients break down, or how minerals do their work
• Do you desire to understand how the body works in relationship to food? How mood and stress, toxic nutritional beliefs, weight and body image, disordered eating, digestion, fatigue, and immunity all play a role in personal health? Maybe you see you see yourself working directly with people to guide and support their own discovery of dynamic wellness as your end goal.

If the answer is yes; then Nutrition and Dietetics is the path for you.

What does a Nutritionist/Dietician do?

A nutritionist can be able to determine the amount of nutrients that our body needs. Therefore, they are able to advice the community on which foods to consume and which crops to plant rich in nutrients.

What Career can I pursue as a Nutritionist/Dietician?

As with any area of study or expertise that has a broad array of real-world applications, nutrition lends itself to a number of possible career paths, each with its own unique rewards and challenges. However, there are three principle divisions in the field of nutrition that offer a useful means of conceptualizing the various career paths in nutrition.

Clinical: Clinical nutritionists and dieticians, as one might expect, work in clinical settings, often in one-on-one situations with inpatients and/or outpatients, as well as with their families, in assessing, designing, and implementing dietary strategies and nutritional therapies. Often the aim is to address a particular medical issue, which can include hypertension, diabetes, or obesity, although clinical nutritionists are also called upon come up with a plan of action in situations where a treatment protocol, such as chemotherapy, impacts a patients overall diet or creates particular food sensitivities.

Community: Schools, community health clinics and recreational centres (Gyms), sports teams, local, state, and governmental agency programs are some of the places you’re likely to find nutritionists and dieticians working in this capacity. Often, in these settings, specific subgroups (children, the elderly, at-risk families) and their specific needs are targeted in programs designed to address specific nutritional issues

Management: Institutions that depend on large-scale food-service operations to feed employees, patients, and/or the public, require nutritionists and dieticians to help manage and optimize the performance of these facilities. Responsibilities can include recipe testing, menu planning, food sourcing, and long-term budgeting, all with the goal of meeting the latest standards and recommendations for health and nutrition.

So are you now convinced that this is your future?

The Outspan Medical College offers a certificate and diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics.