Registered dietitian assistants work with supervising nutritionists to provide meals and nutritional instruction to patients, students, or residents in healthcare facilities, schools, and prisons. An associate degree in nutrition or a related field is now required, and the American Dietetic Association is pushing for a written exam for professional certification. Continuing education is also required to maintain an active record with the professional organization.
A registered dietitian is a food-related healthcare professional who works with supervising nutritionists to provide meals, snacks, or even nutritional instruction to patients, students, or residents. These workers are mainly employed in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, universities and prisons. Depending on the size of the organization, an assistant nutritionist directly supervises cooks and primary foodservice workers – or assists them in their work – to ensure that meals prepared are within the menu, budget and nutritional requirements established by the supervising nutritionist. At one time, only a high school diploma and some on-the-job training were needed to become a registered dietitian assistant. The increasing professionalization of many careers in healthcare, however, has now increased the minimum education to enter this career, with an associate degree in nutrition, food service, nutritionist science, or a related field.
As noted above, a minimum of an associate degree in nutrition science or nutrition is now required to enter the field and become a registered dietitian assistant in the US. The American Dietetic Association recently established this minimum educational preparation. Despite these requirements, just over a third of working nutrition assistants do not have a high school diploma, and about the same percentage have only a high school diploma. The remaining registered dietitian assistants went beyond the minimum requirements of the American Dietetic Association to become a registered dietitian assistant and earned a bachelor’s degree in the field. This professional association can provide prospective students with a list of accredited programs for associate and baccalaureate degrees.
The American Dietetic Association has set another career goal for individuals who want to become a registered dietitian. Although not yet required by most employers, the professional association is pushing hard for the successful completion of a written exam created and conducted by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for individuals who wish to become a Registered Dietitian Assistant. Uniform adoption of this exam across the US would add a higher degree of professionalism to this career. This positive step, however, may be offset by the demands of nutritionist assistants for higher salaries, due to the greater educational preparation required for the career.
A final requirement mandated by the American Dietetic Association for individuals desiring to become a registered dietitian assistant is completion of annual continuing education (CE) units in order to maintain an active record with the professional organization. Current registered dietitian assistants who have completed a bachelor’s degree in the field and successfully completed a written exam are referred to as “Registered Dietitian Assistants”. These individuals serve as examples of professional certification goals for the career of a registered dietitian assistant.
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