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Dietitian assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Eric West,
Eric West
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical dietitian assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for dietitian assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 36.9% of dietitian assistant resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a dietitian assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 dietitian assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how dietitian assistants use patients:
  • Evaluated patients' diets through one-on-one discussions regarding individual dietary preferences and desired health outcomes.
  • Assisted Dietitians with evaluations and assessments of patients and updated information.

2. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how dietitian assistants use patient care:
  • Documented patient information obtained from interviews and evaluated patient care needs.
  • Participated in interdisciplinary inpatient consultations to ensure optimal patient care was attained in a hospital of over 600 beds.

3. Food Service

The food service industry is a vast industry comprising of restaurants, caterers, cafeterias operating in institutions and any other business offering a meal not prepared at home. Foodservice operators require necessary utensils for preparing food for the consumers, foodservice distributors are the people who take care of this need for them.

Here's how dietitian assistants use food service:
  • Updated 5,000 recipes to include nutritional and allergy information through food service website and mobile app.
  • Worked multiple jobs; relief/float all departments in food service of hospital and offices.

4. RD

A registered dietitian (RD) work with people who are having trouble losing weight or maintaining a proper diet and weight for health related reasons. Each patient's dietary habits are unique and a registered dietitian will help craft a plan tailored to their needs.

Here's how dietitian assistants use rd:
  • home, Honeybrook, PA Shadowed RD, Danielle Kronmuller.
  • Communicate with RD, CNP and MD regarding any modifications, concerns or supplements necessary.

5. Culinary

Here's how dietitian assistants use culinary:
  • Developed a menu for a culinary tent and led fellow volunteers for the local community health fair serving 300+ guests.

6. Nutrition Education

Here's how dietitian assistants use nutrition education:
  • Developed and presented nutrition education material
  • Assisted dietitians in running clerical and clinical errands and preparing patient nutrition education materials.

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7. Therapeutic Diets

Here's how dietitian assistants use therapeutic diets:
  • Conducted basic level nutrition assessments, developed individual therapeutic diets, and conducted follow-up interviews with patients to evaluate nutritional care.
  • Calculated and developed menus for therapeutic diets.

8. Tray Line

A tray line is a food preparation method in which food trays travel around the production line.

Here's how dietitian assistants use tray line:
  • Supervised tray lines and totaled all menu food items for the next day meal preparation.
  • Complied with clinical requirements and ensured nutritional appropriateness; monitored patient tray line; directed 20 staff in dietary department.

9. Diet Orders

Diet Orders are the instructions given to a patient and/or the family and caretakers of a patient, by a medical and healthcare professional, in relation to said individual's dietary and generally food and drink-related needs. These might be given to a person for a number of reasons and can apply for a short, specific amount of time or can be life-long. Some surgeries, for example, require that all or some specific foods are not ingested a number of hours prior to the surgery, while some diseases, like diabetes, can affect a person's whole diet.

Here's how dietitian assistants use diet orders:
  • Worked with diet orders, patient menus, supplements and snacks.
  • Enter diet orders, supplements, faxes and patient meal orders.

10. Meal Service

A Meal Service is a service provided by a company or an organization in which food is provided to a group of people. Homeless shelters provide a meal service, for example, but so do many education facilities, like high schools. Some companies provide their employees with meal service, though unlike for some of the other kinds of meal service, employees must pay for this food out of their own pocket.

Here's how dietitian assistants use meal service:
  • Provided support in kitchen during meal service to ensure dietary accuracy.
  • Prepare and organize patient meal tickets prior to meal service.

11. Allergies

Here's how dietitian assistants use allergies:
  • Obtained food histories, likes / dislikes, food aversions / allergies, cultural / religious observances.
  • Consult with residents about allergies to certain meal items, and food preferences.

12. Diabetes

Diabetes refers to a disease of uncontrolled sugar levels in the body.

Here's how dietitian assistants use diabetes:
  • Participated in a practicum involving diabetes education classes taught by registered dietitians.
  • Counseled clients on dietary disease management of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

13. Diet Changes

Here's how dietitian assistants use diet changes:
  • Processed patient diet changes, tube feedings, nourishments, and supplements.
  • Maintained detailed computerized records of diet changes and produced reports for nutritionists.

14. Food Preferences

Here's how dietitian assistants use food preferences:
  • Interviewed residents for food preferences.
  • Communicated with residents and families regarding food preferences.

15. Diet Restrictions

Here's how dietitian assistants use diet restrictions:
  • Educated residents of individual diet restrictions by providing nutrition and health education based on reliable scientific sources.
  • Prepared and assembled trays in accordance to specific therapeutic diet restrictions.
top-skills

What skills help Dietitian Assistants find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on dietitian assistant resumes?

Eric West

Assistant Professor, Dietetics Program, Arkansas State University

I believe that with any healthcare position, the ability to work professionally with others, respecting other professions, and understanding the roles and responsibilities of others is important. I also value leadership skills when reviewing resumes. Don't confuse this with management experience. Facilities need leaders of all kinds, not necessarily those that sit in the big office. Frontline associates need someone close by they can rely on to provide answers, feedback, and guidance. That skill will get you far in life.

What soft skills should all dietitian assistants possess?

Eric West

Assistant Professor, Dietetics Program, Arkansas State University

I believe that emotional intelligence is the greatest soft skill a person can learn and master. This will enable them to objectively gauge their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. They can gain the ability to mitigate conflicts and focus on creating equitable solutions. This soft skill can also assist in developing their ability to become a leader.

Another would be flexibility. Maintaining a rigid schedule can have benefits, but unfortunately, that's not how the world works. We have all seen this in the past 18 months, and flexibility has come into play almost daily. Workloads have to the shifted or reassigned completely. At the end of the day, anyone working in healthcare has the same goal; to provide optimal care for patients. Personally speaking, in the hospital setting, I would easily go from reviewing the end-of-the-month financial data to peeling potatoes, to visiting patients, to washing dishes. You need to be fluid and willing to jump in where needed.

What hard/technical skills are most important for dietitian assistants?

Eric West

Assistant Professor, Dietetics Program, Arkansas State University

Regarding hard skills, I like to see computer and technological skills. This is imperative today with the high reliability of electronic medical records and health informatics. A potential employee would need the necessary skills to navigate these programs and promptly complete proper charting.

Another hard skill I focus on is project management skills. When working in the hospital setting, I split my day into two parts; 80% completing daily responsibilities and 20% working on projects that would move the department forward. That 20% might be dedicated to developing tactics to improve patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction, process improvement endeavors, etc.

List of dietitian assistant skills to add to your resume

Dietitian assistant skills

The most important skills for a dietitian assistant resume and required skills for a dietitian assistant to have include:

  • Patients
  • Patient Care
  • Food Service
  • RD
  • Culinary
  • Nutrition Education
  • Therapeutic Diets
  • Tray Line
  • Diet Orders
  • Meal Service
  • Allergies
  • Diabetes
  • Diet Changes
  • Food Preferences
  • Diet Restrictions
  • Epic
  • Tube Feedings
  • Nutritional Risk
  • Computer System
  • Food Preparation
  • Blood Pressure
  • Food Orders
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Weight Loss
  • Medical Nutrition
  • Food Carts
  • Patient Charts
  • Food Safety
  • Food Selection
  • Plan Menus
  • Patient Diet
  • Meal Preparation
  • Eating Disorders
  • Food Choices
  • PowerPoint
  • MDS
  • Meal Orders
  • TPN
  • ICU
  • Dietary Problems
  • Gluten Free
  • Counsel Individuals

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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