Road to RDN

Should I become a dietitian?

As the New Year approaches, many of us will take stock of where we are personally and professionally.  This last year was a huge one for me as I finished a master’s program, officially became a registered dietitian nutritionist, and accepted my first job in the field.  I start next month.  Personally, I sold one house and bought another moving to the suburbs, celebrated my second wedding anniversary, and brought home the cutest French bulldog in the world named Romeo.

It was a year of endings and beginnings, and I wanted to take minute to reflect on one of the most important endings, finishing school and finally becoming a RDN.  It was four years of hard work.  For anyone interested in pursuing this field, I think it’s a great idea to seek out those already working in nutrition and learn all you can about the subject.  It helped me tremendously.  Here, I wanted to offer up my thoughts on the completing the application process for a coordinated program, studying for the test, and approaching the job search.  I’ll do it in two posts.  The first will concentrate on getting into the program. 

I finished college in 2003. For the next six years, I worked as a writer and an editor.  I loved telling stories, working with pieces until they were perfect, and going to press.  I did not love the downsizing, searching for a new job every few years, and the low salaries.  At the time, I also developed an interest in how our nutrition is related to our health.  I decided that if I was going to write about something, I wanted to be passionate about it, and that was nutrition.  My husband, Sean, works as a registered nurse and was familiar with registered dietitians.  And as all good journalists know, my first step was to begin the research process. 

When pursuing a new field, I think it is essential that you know as much about the field as possible.  If you are thinking of working in allied health, nutrition is just one area.  A great resource for learning about all types of careers is the Occupational Outlook Handbook.  Not only can this show you a variety of careers, but it can also show the different areas that dietitians pursue.  Eat Right offers an entire section to help get you started on this road.  They also help you discover which program may be the right program for you. In fact, it’s where I found my program.

Having a bachelor’s of arts, I knew that a coordinated program that offered both my master’s and my internship was the right program for me. Also coming from the arts, I hadn't anticipated how much work it would take to come into the program.  The first step, and I would recommend this, would be to contact the programs that you are interested in and see if they will review your transcripts. This helped me not only establish a relationship with the program I ended up in, but also reassured me that it was possible to get the work done that I needed to get into that program.  Contacting the school will also give you an idea of what they are looking for in their ideal student.  If you know that, you can certainly put your focus towards becoming that ideal student.

Be prepared to take a lot of science classes if you have a non-science background.  And be prepared to start where you need to start; biology and chemistry come first, the more difficult classes come later.  I took the majority of my prerequisites for my master’s at a community college.  I’d recommend putting is some time to establish a rapport with your professors.  Not only did it help me approach them when I was stuck on a difficult concept, a few of them even wrote me great letters of recommendation that helped me get into the program.

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Good grades are going to help get you into your program, but if you can try to spend some time volunteering or working in a healthcare setting.  It will give you some hands-on experience.  Try to find a dietitian to shadow.  This can give you an idea of their day-to-day experience.  Local chapters of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics may have a way to put you together with a dietitian to shadow.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to them.  Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to friends or family who may know a dietitian to put you in touch with them.

Finally, spend a little time to reflect on why you want to become a dietitian and what unique talents you bring to the table.  You are going to have to write a few personal essays and maybe even interview.  Being an expert on your strengths is only going to help you convince the program that you are the perfect fit.

It is a competitive field, so be prepared.  Getting to know people in this profession can really help you set your expectations.  I've met dietitians that had to apply a few times to get into their program, or have had to reapply for an internship several years in a row.  At the end of the day, these women still became dietitians.  If this is the field for you, patience and persistence can get you there. 

Next time, I’ll offer up my study tips for the RD exam and my job search strategies!