Friday, March 18, 2011

Alert! How to become a dietitian is not always clear!

For those of you reading my blog (particularly the posts related to National Registered Dietitian Day) who are studying or want to study to become a Registered Dietitian (RD), I suggest you read the following article and then follow up with lots of specific questions in your program in order to make perfectly clear that your program of study is going to lead you to the correct path to be eligible to take the RD registration exam.



In addition, check the information on the website for The American Dietetic Association that explains the step-wise process and how each step of the way needs to be approved by the various arms of ADA in order to assess the rigor and quality of the program content.

ADA's website page for students:
http://www.eatright.org/Students/
-Accredited Dietetics Education Programs
http://www.eatright.org/CADE/content.aspx?id=73

I hope no one I know (or a blog reader) has had the misfortune described by the student in the article above!

You should know the following when going into a program that also requires an additional dietetic internship after completion of an undergraduate dietetic degree. Dietetic internships are currently VERY competitive to get into with a matching rate of only ~50%. So study hard (very hard), try to get a part-time job within the food and nutrition field, and volunteer for everything you can possibly fit into your schedule to get additional exposure to aspects of the food system.

A dietetic intern who worked on my farm for a day last year told me that she had volunteered on an organic farm for 5 months prior to her internship applications last year, and while she certainly does not know all the factors that led her application getting to the top of the acceptance pile, she thinks that her organic farm volunteer experience was a major plus.

So good luck to all students and future dietitians! I hope our paths cross somewhere someday. Please be sure to introduce yourself to me if they do so. :-)

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

1 comment:

Kerry Long said...

Hi Diana! I recently read an article about your farm and business in the September 2010 today's dietitian. I am currently a dietetic technician student at Owens Community College and will be graduating in May 2011. I noticed in the blog that you had an intern for one day and I was curious if you still are looking or hoping for another?! I would love and appreciate any experience in growing and operating a farm/business. Any feedback will be much appreciated and I look forward to hearing from you!

Kerry
kerlong_21@yahoo.com