Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Becoming a Registered Dietitian: Undergraduate Education


Are you interested in becoming a dietitian? You may be finishing high school, in college, or considering a second career. I believe we all have a little interest in nutrition because we have to eat to survive. Why not fuel your body in a healthy way?



Registered Dietitians (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) are the nutrition experts. We go through school, a dietetic internship, and all new RDs will be required to have a Master's degree by 2024. The first step in becoming a registered dietitian is to attend an ACEND-credited undergraduate program.



The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) is the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics'  (AND) accreditation program for dietetic undergraduate programs that prepare students for careers as RD/RDNs or dietetic technicians registered (DTR). ACEND was previously known as the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) if you are more familiar with that terminology. ACEND makes sure that undergraduate programs and dietetic internships are adequately preparing dietetic and nutrition majors for their dietetic internship and providing a solid base for their future career as a dietitian. Their are objectives for each undergraduate course that have to be met for the program to be ASCEND accredited.

The dietetics curriculum is heavily science based. So if you enjoy science, this could be the right career for you. Many dietetics programs will overlap with some nursing, speech therapy, and medicine programs because of these degrees are medical and science-based. I enjoyed my undergraduate core classes and felt that I was well-prepared for my dietetic internship and Master's degree. Click here to search for an ACEND-accredited undergraduate program, didactic program, or dietetic internship.

Follow me, RDtipoftheday, on PinterestInstagram, and Twitter, for more information about healthy eating, encouragement, recipes, and nutrition facts. You can also subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.

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