Welcome to National Nutrition Month where we will begin the next five weeks of March by discussing the differences between a dietitian and a nutritionist. Most people think dietitian and nutritionist are interchangeable terms. While they might seem similar, the difference between them is monstrous. From education to experience, there are multiple levels that distinguish between being a registered dietitian and a nutritionist. While every dietitian is a nutritionist, not every nutritionist is a dietitian. So, who will you trust to guide you in proper eating skills? Continue reading to find out and check out my short video on whether or not you should see a dietitian or nutritionist.
Dietitians are required to complete a bachelor’s degree. In fact, by 2024, dietetic students will be required to complete a graduate degree. Such schooling for a dietitian includes high level chemistry, biology, and nutrition classes. From lectures to labs, dietetics entails enough scientific schooling that it qualifies as a premed major. However, while a nutritionist may have a certified nutritionist specialist certification, they are not upheld to the same education requirements as a dietitian and therefore may not have any formal education in nutrition at all.
Dietitians must complete 1200 hours of supervised practice in an internship. After graduating with a BS or MS, a dietetic student must match with an internship program to fulfill practice experience in different rotations. Food service, food safety, and clinical are all some of the potential areas a student will have to spend weeks working in to gain supervised experience. Nutritionists are not required to complete and internship and therefore to not possess the same experience as a dietitian.
Dietitians must pass a registration exam. While nutritionists are not required to take any certifications or state/national exams, future dietitians must sit for a 3-hour exam that covers multiple areas of medical nutrition therapy, food safety, community nutrition, and more. In Maryland, dietitians also must have a license to practice as a Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionist.
Even after passing the registration exam, dietitians must still complete continuing education courses periodically to ensure that they are maintaining and upkeeping their skills.
Why trust a registered dietitian? In today’s online world, so many media sources or food coaches are available and advertised. Social media loves to promote food coaches and nutritionists as if they are experts. While some nutritionists may be knowledgeable to a degree, they do not have the same education, experience, or expertise of a dietitian. In addition, nutritionists cannot work in government settings or hospitals as dietitians. Therefore, if you trust your doctor to prescribe you medication, you should only trust a dietitian to consult your nutritional needs.
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
Candice Shipley, Student Nutritionist
Nutrition & Food Science – Dietetics
University of Maryland, College Park | 2023