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Nutrition internship vs dietitian

The differences between nutrition interns and 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 internship and a dietitian. Additionally, a dietitian has an average salary of $58,480, which is higher than the $36,506 average annual salary of a nutrition internship.

The top three skills for a nutrition internship include patients, nutrition education programs and nutrition education materials. The most important skills for a dietitian are patients, medical nutrition therapy, and rehabilitation.

Nutrition internship vs dietitian overview

Nutrition InternshipDietitian
Yearly salary$36,506$58,480
Hourly rate$17.55$28.12
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs48,2046,164
Job satisfaction-2.5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a nutrition internship do?

Nutrition interns are individuals who are on the job training for the tasks performed by licensed nutritionists or dieticians. The interns provide a nutrition care process that includes prescription of parenteral and enteral recommendations and analysis of laboratory values. They prepare a case study presentation that applies evidence-based guidelines and nutrition care process research. It is also part of their responsibilities to provide nutrition services, meal plans, and lesson plans.

What does a dietitian do?

A dietitian's role is to assist clients in their journey to achieve their health goals. Typically, a dietitian's responsibilities revolve around interviewing and assessing a client's diet needs and goals, learning their preferences and restrictions such as allergies, and crafting a personalized nutrition plan. Moreover, it is essential for a dietitian to monitor a client's progress and maintain information on all accounts. There are also instances where one may promote healthy eating habits to the public, all while keeping abreast of the latest nutrition studies.

Nutrition internship vs dietitian salary

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

Nutrition InternshipDietitian
Average salary$36,506$58,480
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $53,000Between $43,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-University of California
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between nutrition internship and dietitian education

There are a few differences between a nutrition internship and a dietitian in terms of educational background:

Nutrition InternshipDietitian
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorFood And NutritionDietetics
Most common collegeUniversity of Maryland - College ParkUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Nutrition internship vs dietitian demographics

Here are the differences between nutrition interns' and dietitians' demographics:

Nutrition InternshipDietitian
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 18.0% Female, 82.0%Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 10.1% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 9.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between nutrition internship and dietitian duties and responsibilities

Nutrition internship example responsibilities.

  • Research foods available in VT grocery stores that meet the WIC criteria for eligible food products in VT.
  • Complete nutrition assessments and design interventions for hospital patients and long term care facility residents.
  • Enter recipes and analyze nutrient levels of school lunches via USDA approve software program, NutriKids.
  • Create agendas, identify potential speakers and topics, connect communities and individuals to USDA resources and programs.
  • Research on various topics such as corporate wellness, exercise, food allergies, and other health relate concerns.
  • Create diabetes educational handouts for an outpatient clinic.
  • Show more

Dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
  • Prioritize initial/quarterly/consult assessments, interventions and progress monitoring for long-term care, rehabilitation and post acute patients.
  • Design and provide individualize nutrition counseling to promote healthy behavior modifications for a variety of home health care patients.
  • Counsele post-op patients to ensure dietary compliance, nutritional adequacy and formulation of weight management goals throughout their post-operative course.
  • Perform indirect calorimetry to measure resting metabolic rates (RMR).
  • Work as part of research team on a large-scale NIH clinical trial.
  • Show more

Nutrition internship vs dietitian skills

Common nutrition internship skills
  • Patients, 24%
  • Nutrition Education Programs, 9%
  • Nutrition Education Materials, 5%
  • RD, 5%
  • Diabetes, 4%
  • Food Safety, 4%
Common dietitian skills
  • Patients, 39%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 9%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Patient Education, 6%
  • Nutrition Services, 5%
  • Lab Results, 4%

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