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Therapeutic dietitian vs nutritionist

The differences between therapeutic dietitians and nutritionists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a therapeutic dietitian and a nutritionist. Additionally, a therapeutic dietitian has an average salary of $60,038, which is higher than the $49,877 average annual salary of a nutritionist.

The top three skills for a therapeutic dietitian include nutritional risk, nutritional care and medical nutrition therapy. The most important skills for a nutritionist are patients, public health, and wic program.

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutritionist overview

Therapeutic DietitianNutritionist
Yearly salary$60,038$49,877
Hourly rate$28.86$23.98
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs6,213698
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 88%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutritionist salary

Therapeutic dietitians and nutritionists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Therapeutic DietitianNutritionist
Average salary$60,038$49,877
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $114,000Between $30,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City-Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-Cargill
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between therapeutic dietitian and nutritionist education

There are a few differences between a therapeutic dietitian and a nutritionist in terms of educational background:

Therapeutic DietitianNutritionist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 88%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorDieteticsDietetics
Most common collegeUniversity of Maryland - College ParkUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutritionist demographics

Here are the differences between therapeutic dietitians' and nutritionists' demographics:

Therapeutic DietitianNutritionist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 3.1% Female, 96.9%Male, 15.8% Female, 84.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 9.9% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between therapeutic dietitian and nutritionist duties and responsibilities

Therapeutic dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
  • Provide individual and group nutrition counseling, including interactive nutrition and culinary sessions to low-income multicultural communities.
  • Provide individualized nutrition consultations for sports nutrition, weight-loss, diabetes, hypertension and hormonal changes.

Nutritionist example responsibilities.

  • Lead weekly nutritional education workshops on diabetes management, in addition to providing individual counseling.
  • Inspire patients to proactively manage their diabetes, to include administering insulin and taking prescribe medications.
  • Follow up in the out-patient GI clinic for tube feeding regimens, assessing growth and food allergies.
  • Establish clients via social media; maintain Facebook page.
  • Develop training table menus for all NCAA scholarship athletes and attend training table.
  • Provide complete instruction and advice to patients with diet-relate problems like diabetics, hypertension.
  • Show more

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutritionist skills

Common therapeutic dietitian skills
  • Nutritional Risk, 47%
  • Nutritional Care, 30%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 23%
Common nutritionist skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Public Health, 8%
  • WIC Program, 7%
  • RD, 6%
  • Food Service, 6%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 4%

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