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The differences between dietetic interns and clinical dietitians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a dietetic internship and a clinical dietitian. Additionally, a dietetic internship has an average salary of $64,038, which is higher than the $59,133 average annual salary of a clinical dietitian.
The top three skills for a dietetic internship include patients, diabetes education and medical nutrition therapy. The most important skills for a clinical dietitian are patients, patient care, and medical nutrition therapy.
| Dietetic Internship | Clinical Dietitian | |
| Yearly salary | $64,038 | $59,133 |
| Hourly rate | $30.79 | $28.43 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 52,765 | 57,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
In a dietetic internship, an intern primarily performs support tasks to gain industry insights and experience while under a dietitian's directives and supervision. Their duties typically include conducting research and analyses, gathering and analyzing data from previous projects and studies, participating in the development of new meal and nutritional plans, and assisting in food delivery operations. They also take part in assessing a patient's health and treatment plans, providing nutrition education as necessary. Additionally, an intern must produce regular reports and uphold the facility's policies.
A clinical dietitian is responsible for providing quality nutritional care for patients by monitoring their current health conditions, advising nutritional and dietary supplements to maintain their healthy lifestyle, and speed up their recovery process. Clinical dietitians often coordinate with other medical professionals to assess food choices and develop nutrition programs for the patients. A clinical dietitian must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry to offer the best services to the patients and accurately handle their inquiries and concerns.
Dietetic interns and clinical dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Dietetic Internship | Clinical Dietitian | |
| Average salary | $64,038 | $59,133 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $132,000 | Between $43,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | University of California |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a dietetic internship and a clinical dietitian in terms of educational background:
| Dietetic Internship | Clinical Dietitian | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Dietetics | Dietetics |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | University of Maryland - College Park |
Here are the differences between dietetic interns' and clinical dietitians' demographics:
| Dietetic Internship | Clinical Dietitian | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8% | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 9.8% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 10.0% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |