What Is A Registered Dietitian? Healthfulfilling.com
What Is A Registered Dietitian?
Healthfulfilling.com strives to provide credible nutrition and health related information.
Registered Dietitians are a main part of Healthfulfilling.com, and thus we want to
devote a page to the profession to inform our visitors of what is a Registered Dietitian.
Registered Dietitians are food and nutrition experts who must have a minimum of a
Bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university, with course
work approved by the Commission on Accreditation on Dietetics Education (CADE) of
the American Dietetic Association. In addition, an approved CADE internship must be
completed which is about 6-12 months. These internships usually have limited seats so
they have application and admission requirements. After these requirements are met,
the dietitian is eligible to sit for the National Registration Exam, administered by the
Commission On Dietetic Registration (CDR), which upon passing will grant the
credential, Registered Dietitian, (RD).
There are also programs which are Coordinated Undergraduate Programs in Dietetics
which offer the combination of the Bachelor's degree and /or Master's degree and
internship program. These programs are often quite intensive since they combine the
practical training within the academic program. They also have separate acceptance
and admission guidelines, and there is usually a limited number of seats for each
program based on availability.
These programs are often of interest, since upon graduation with the bachelor's degree,
and completion of the included internship, they are then eligible to sit for the
Registration Exam.
Sometimes, people in the field of Nutrition say they are Nutritionists, which is very
commonly heard. However, Nutritionists may not have the same educational
background and may not have attended an internship program and may not have the
RD credential. There are also Nutritionists who have Master's degrees or Ph. D's in
Nutrition who are very knowledgeable about Nutrition, and may specialize in a particular
area of Nutrition. Some states also have a licensing mandate called, LD, or LDN which
are Licensed Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian and Nutritionist which Nutrition professionals
must apply for in order to practice the profession in the state. This is an important and
useful credential for Nutritionists to have if they are not Registered Dietitians. It is also
very important as it protects the public from being counselled or consulted with by a
Nutritionist without the proper educational background, degrees and requirements.
If you need to seek the services of a Nutrition professional, always seek a Registered
Dietitian and ask for his/her CDR credential certification which should be credentialed by
the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) which is the credentialing agency of the
American Dietetic Association. Practically every accredited hospital or outpatient health
facility only hires Registered Dietitians.
Otherwise if you see a Nutritionist in private practice who is not a Registered Dietitian,
then ask for their licensing credential by the state, which could be LD, LDN, or another
credential depending on the state. Check with your state government about the specific
licensing requirements or credential, because some are less restrictive than others.
Also be aware that not every state has licensing requirements for Nutritionists--which
means anyone can portray himself/herself as a Nutritionist and practice. Fortunately,
currently 46 out of 50 states have licensure requirements for dietitians and nutritionists.
When a state does not have licensure requirements, then you should only see a
Registered Dietitian and ask for their credential certificate, especially if they are in
private practice, since most accredited hospitals and clinics employ only Registered
Dietitians.
Registered Dietitians are the most qualified and credible nutrition experts to contact
for any questions in Nutrition/Dietetics. All Registered Dietitians are required to maintain
Continuing Professional Education throughout their careers in order to maintain the RD
credential. Some Registered Dietitians also do additional certifications to specialize in
specific areas of Dietetics such as Diabetes Education, Renal Nutrition, Nutrition
Support, etc.
For further information on the profession of Dietetics and Nutrition and Registered
Dietitians, visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org
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Updated 6/2009
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