Post job

Nutrition counselor vs outpatient dietitian

The differences between nutrition counselors and outpatient 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 nutrition counselor and an outpatient dietitian. Additionally, an outpatient dietitian has an average salary of $62,717, which is higher than the $49,744 average annual salary of a nutrition counselor.

The top three skills for a nutrition counselor include patients, counsel clients and blood pressure. The most important skills for an outpatient dietitian are patients, medical nutrition therapy, and patient care.

Nutrition counselor vs outpatient dietitian overview

Nutrition CounselorOutpatient Dietitian
Yearly salary$49,744$62,717
Hourly rate$23.92$30.15
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs34,10510,972
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Nutrition counselor vs outpatient dietitian salary

Nutrition counselors and outpatient dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nutrition CounselorOutpatient Dietitian
Average salary$49,744$62,717
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $82,000Between $38,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between nutrition counselor and outpatient dietitian education

There are a few differences between a nutrition counselor and an outpatient dietitian in terms of educational background:

Nutrition CounselorOutpatient Dietitian
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorDieteticsDietetics
Most common collegePurdue UniversityUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Nutrition counselor vs outpatient dietitian demographics

Here are the differences between nutrition counselors' and outpatient dietitians' demographics:

Nutrition CounselorOutpatient Dietitian
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 14.2% Female, 85.8%Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between nutrition counselor and outpatient dietitian duties and responsibilities

Nutrition counselor example responsibilities.

  • Provide ambulatory care to all outpatients including, diabetics, pediatric, allergy / GI issues, weight loss.
  • Take measurements for BMI as needed.
  • Assist and develop custom/specialized menus for participants who require meal accommodations due to allergies, intolerances, or medical conditions.
  • Assist in clinical inpatient setting as needed, where TPN consultations are frequently perform.

Outpatient dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
  • Perform nutritional education, complete comprehensive assessments, calculate patient needs for nutrition support and determine patients at risk for malnutrition.
  • Create educational lesson discussing hypertension prevention, risk factors, MNT.
  • Monitor patients' nutrition status, laboratory values, diet tolerance, and motivate them to adhere to dietary/medications recommendations.
  • Provide clinical nutrition coverage as needed for medical-surgical, telemetry, intensive care unit, behavioral health and rehabilitative floors.

Nutrition counselor vs outpatient dietitian skills

Common nutrition counselor skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Counsel Clients, 8%
  • Blood Pressure, 6%
  • Weight Management, 5%
  • Diabetes Management, 4%
  • Eating Disorders, 4%
Common outpatient dietitian skills
  • Patients, 30%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 11%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Nutrition Services, 5%
  • Home Health, 4%
  • Healthcare Professionals, 4%

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs