Dietitians and nutritionists (NOC 3132)

Dietitians and nutritionists plan, implement and oversee nutrition and food service programs.

Dietitians and nutritionists:

• develop, manage and supervise nutrition and food preparation and service programs in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, company cafeterias or similar settings
• evaluate nutritional status of individuals
• provide nutrition counselling and consulting to health professionals, dietetic interns, community groups, government, media and individuals
• help to prevent and/or treat poor nutrition
• plan, review and run nutrition education programs
• develop educational materials for various audiences
• practice on an individual basis or as a member of an mixed professional team to decide the nutritional needs of patients and to plan normal and therapeutic menus
• study and analyze current scientific nutritional studies
• do research to improve the nutritional value, taste, appearance and preparation of food
• work within industry in the development, testing and evaluation, and marketing of food and nutrition products
• work as a company representative supplying product-related information to health professionals
• speak with other health professionals, community groups, government and the media to give a range of nutrition information
• supervise training of dietetic interns

Special duties

Dietitians and nutritionists may specialize in areas such as administrative dietetics, clinical dietetics, community dietetics, public health dietetics or research dietetics.

Key aspects of the work in this occupation:

• Work generally takes place in a conventional indoor environment.

Education, training & qualifications

• Dietitians require a bachelor's or master's degree in dietetics, nutrition or a related field such as food and nutritional science or biochemistry
  and
  A period of supervised practical training.
• Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces for dietitians.
• Membership in the national association, Dietitians of Canada, may be required for dietitians to practise.
• Nutritionists usually require similar education and training as dietitians.
• Registration with a regulatory body is required for nutritionists in Nova Scotia, (as a registered dietitian-nutritionist) in New Brunswick, Quebec and Alberta.
• Membership with the national association, Dietitians of Canada, and/or a provincial regulatory body is available for nutritionists who have the same education and practical training as dietitians.

As of July 1, 2017 when the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) came into force, you will not need significant additional training, experience, testing or assessment if your qualifications or certificates are recognized by a Canadian regulatory authority. This applies whether you were trained in Canada or internationally. Learn about labour mobility at www.workersmobility.ca. For information about labour mobility and foreign qualifications recognition, contact the B.C. regulator for your occupation.

Skills

• Numerical Ability
• Directive
• Verbal & Written Comprehension
• Clerical Ability
• Detail-Oriented

View skills definitions

Education programs in B.C.

The following program areas are related to this occupation:

For more information about programs offered specifically for this career, visit EducationPlannerBC.