What You'll Do

  • Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
  • Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
  • Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
  • Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
  • Monitor food service operations to ensure conformance to nutritional, safety, sanitation and quality standards.
  • Coordinate recipe development and standardization and develop new menus for independent food service operations.
  • Develop policies for food service or nutritional programs to assist in health promotion and disease control.
  • Inspect meals served for conformance to prescribed diets and standards of palatability and appearance.
  • Develop curriculum and prepare manuals, visual aids, course outlines, and other materials used in teaching.
  • Prepare and administer budgets for food, equipment, and supplies.

Essential Skills

Reading Comprehension 4.0/5
Active Listening 4.0/5
Speaking 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Social Perceptiveness 4.0/5
Judgment and Decision Making 4.0/5
Writing 3.88/5
Monitoring 3.88/5
Service Orientation 3.88/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.88/5
Learning Strategies 3.75/5
Coordination 3.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.

Common styles

Integrity, Concern for Others, Attention to Detail, Dependability, Cooperation

Want a personal read on fit. Take the free assessment and see your exact compatibility with this career and many related roles.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Written Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Written Expression 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Speech Clarity 4.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Allergenic diet software Aurora FoodPro Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro BioEx Systems Nutrition Maker Plus Compu-Cal Nutrition Assistant Cronometer CyberSoft NutriBase Database software DietMaster Systems DietMaster ESHA Research The Food Processor Google Drive Graphics software Ketogenic planning software Lifestyles Technologies DietMaster Pro Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word MNT Northwest MNT Assistant

Work Environment & Style

Common Styles for This Career

  • Integrity (High importance: 4.67/5)
  • Concern for Others (High importance: 4.57/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.4/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.4/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.27/5)

Want to see how YOUR work style matches this career?

Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

Similar Careers to Explore

Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Administrative Dietitian Clinical Dietician Clinical Dietitian Clinical Nutritionist Community Dietitian Consultant Dietitian Diet Consultant Diet Counselor Diet Therapist Dietary Aide Dietician Dietist Dietitian Food Advisor Food Consultant Holistic Nutritionist Menu Planner Nutrition Consultant Nutrition Coordinator Nutrition Counselor Nutritionist Oncology Dietitian Outpatient Dietitian Pediatric Dietician Public Health Dietitian Public Health Nutritionist Registered Dietician Registered Dietitian Renal Dietitian Research Dietitian Sports Nutritionist Teaching Dietitian Therapeutic Dietitian