What is a clinical dietician and how to become one

Key steps to become a clinical dietician

1. Explore clinical dietician education requirements

   Most common clinical dietician degrees

   Bachelor's

   76.8 %

   Master's

   17.4 %

   Associate

   4.3 %

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2. Start to develop specific clinical dietician skills

   Skills	Percentages
   Patients	43.28%
   Patient Care	15.25%
   Medical Nutrition Therapy	10.04%
   Nutrition Education	7.56%
   Rehabilitation	5.20%

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3. Complete relevant clinical dietician training and internships

   Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical dieticians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical dietician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical dietician resumes.

4. Obtain the necessary licensing

   Becoming a licensed clinical dietician usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed clinical dietician in most of states. 35 states require clinical dieticians to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

   State	Education	Exam	License url
   Alabama	Degree required	-	Licensed Dietician
   Alaska	Degree required	-	Dietitian
   Arkansas	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Dietitian
   Connecticut	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Dietitian/Nutritionist
   Delaware	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Dietician/Nutritionist

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5. Research clinical dietician duties and responsibilities

   • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
   • Facilitate interactive education program for mental health youth patients.
   • Write articles for local and national newspapers and newsletters and advise hospital catering departments about the specific dietary requirements of patients.
   • Develop hospital protocol for pediatric TPN ordering guidelines.

6. Prepare your clinical dietician resume

   When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical dietician resume.

   You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical dietician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

   Choose from 10+ customizable clinical dietician resume templates

   Build a professional clinical dietician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical dietician resume.
   

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7. Apply for clinical dietician jobs

   Now it's time to start searching for a clinical dietician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

   1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
   2. Consult your professional network
   3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
   4. Watch out for job scams