Education Requirements to Become a Registered Dietitian (RD)

The plate of hospital food was enough to discourage any patient who had just had surgery involving the digestive tract. It was my first day off a clear liquid diet. Instead of the expected soup and cream of wheat for lunch, the tray contained a fried chicken breast, an apple, brown rice, green beans with almonds, a roll with butter and lime sherbet. Since three attempts to order the right food in as many days had failed, I requested a visit from whoever was in charge of menus. Half an hour later, a horrified registered dietitian arrived and corrected the error.

What is a Registered Dietitian?

According to the American Dietetic Association, a registered dietitian is an individual trained in food and nutrition who has earned a specific extra credential allowing him or her to use the initials RD after his or her name.

An RD is considered a nutritional expert. The majority of individuals in this profession work in a health care area that involves either treating or preventing disease. This frequently involves administering a specific medical nutrition therapy such as hyperalimentation, a type of intravenous feeding for patients who can't eat food.

Dietitians also supervise the preparation of meals and oversee the serving of them. In some cases, they provide a teaching function to patients who have specific medical conditions like diabetes.

While some registered dietitians are in private practice, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that their most common places of employment are hospitals, nursing home facilities, doctors' offices and the offices of other types of health care providers. Some schools have RDs on staff, and a growing number of these professionals work in the food industry.

Required Education

An individual must complete four basic requirements to earn an RD designation:

Bachelor's degree. The degree must have been awarded by a college or university that's at least regionally accredited in the United States. Additionally, the course work must be either accredited or approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association.

Practice program. In order to become an RD, an individual must have completed a CADE-accredited supervised practice program. This can be done at a community agency, health care facility or a foodservice corporation. It can also be completed as part of undergraduate or graduate training and usually lasts six to 12 months.

National exam. The exam that must be passed is administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). More information is available on the CDR web site.

Continuing education. To be awarded RD status, the candidate must complete specified continuing professional education requirements.

Many people are surprised to find that dietitians study a variety of types of courses, such as business, economics, sociology and communications, in addition to science classes.

Individuals credentialed outside the United States can become RDs in this country. The exact path they need to follow depends on whether their home country has a reciprocity agreement with the U.S. allowing them to sit for the U.S. exam. When there is no agreement, the individual must have his or her degree validated by an eligible U.S. college or university and complete the supervised practice requirement to be allowed to register for the exam.

According to the BLS, the accrediting commission had approved 279 bachelor's degree and 18 master's degree programs as of 2008. Prospective students can find a list of approved programs here.

In addition to the education requirements to become a registered dietitian, licensing, certification and registration rules vary by state.

Sources:

http://www.eatright.org/students/education/starthere.aspx

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos077.htm

http://cdrnet.org/

http://www.eatright.org/students/education/cpd.aspx