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Global Journal of Health Science; Vol. 8, No. 6; 2016
ISSN 1916-9736 E-ISSN 1916-9744
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education
14
The Nutrition and Dietetics Workforce Needs Skills and Expertise in
the New York Metropolitan Area
Ann Gaba
1
, Apoorva Shrivastava
1
, Chioma Amadi
2
& Ashish Joshi
2
1
CUNY School of Public Health, Hunter College, New York, USA
2
CUNY School of Public Health, New York, USA
Correspondence: Ashish Joshi, CUNY School of Public Health, New York, USA. Tel: 1-(443)-570-6018. E-mail:
ashish.joshi@sph.cuny.edu
Received: April 29, 2015 Accepted: August 21, 2015 Online Published: September 28, 2015
doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p14 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p14
Abstract
Background: There is an increased demand in the Nutrition and Dietetics field which has fostered credentialing
to ensure competent graduates. The objective of this study is to conduct an exploratory analysis to identify
nutrition/dietetics workforce needs, skills and expertise in the New York metropolitan area as exemplified in
position announcements over a 4 year period.
Methods: We recorded position announcements for jobs in nutrition and dietetics from the New York State
Registered Dietitian Yahoo group, and the Hunter College Nutrition and Food Sciences student and alumni
listserv (NFS-L) over a 4 year period. Keywords were identified using job categories defined by the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) compensation and benefits survey. This served as a starting point to enumerate
the types of positions that have been posted for the New York metropolitan area in recent years.
Results: Four hundred and twelve (412) unique job postings were recorded. Various educational levels,
credentials, and skills desired by these employers were identified, assessed, and compared with similar data from
the “supply side” reports from AND.
Conclusions: The credentials and skills most desired by employers are similar to some of the learning objectives
set forth for DPD and DI programs by ACEND, but not entirely congruent. The need for both client/customer
focus and computer literacy may be implicit in the standards, but a more overt inclusion of these skills would
likely be of benefit to ensure these are inculcated into every program and student.
Keywords: nutrition, dietetics, education, employment, job skills
1. Introduction
The field of Nutrition and Dietetics has recorded considerable growth over the past decade, largely attributed to
the increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition in population health, and its crucial role in the
management of a variety of chronic diseases, which constitute the leading causes of mortality and disability in
the United States (Rogers, 2014; Kris-Etherton, Akabas, & Stemler, 2001). This has stimulated an increase in the
demand for this discipline and fostered credentialing to ensure competent professionals. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics has estimated a projected increase by 20% in the demand for employment of qualified nutritionists and
dietitians over the next 5 years, exceeding other similar professions (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). The
growing market need for qualified dietitians and nutritionists continues to generate relevant concerns by key
stakeholders which include:
1. The need for assuring competency of graduates in meeting essential work place requirements; a concern by the
task force of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, AND (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2012)
2. Uncertainty among prospective and current nutrition students regarding the existence of suitable employment
opportunities in the field (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2012);
3. Inconsistency in employment conditions and expectations for dietitians and nutritionists in different
geographical regions of the country (Rogers, 2014) and
4. The variability in qualifications required for the different dietitian/nutritionist positions advertised.
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These concerns have created the need for strengthening the current and incoming dietetic workforce and
improving and ensuring uniform standards in preparation and continuing education for employment
opportunities in this field.
Dietitians who have received formal training and registration (RDs and DTRs) are collectively known as
credentialed dietetic practitioners, and they constitute the professional dietetic workforce in the United States
(Hooker, Williams, Papneja, Sen, & Hogan, 2012). These professionals must possess an associate’s degree
(DTRs) or baccalaureate degree (RDs) in dietetics along with an accredited supervised practice program (Hooker
et al., 2012). However, concern for the expected decline in the dietetic workforce in the coming decade as many
older practitioners retire, and the ultimate need to strengthen preparation of dietetics and nutrition graduates to
meet marketplace demands have led to the AND’s recommendation of making a Master’s degree the entry level
standard for dietetics practice (Hooker et al., 2012; Kicklighter, Cluskey, Hunter, Nyland, & Spear, 2013). This
reinforces the need for a comprehensive curriculum designed to satisfy both theory and practice requirements for
dietitian graduates. Although there is this extensive data available for the supply side of the dietetics profession,
there seemed to be a lack of specific input from the demand perspective of potential employers of RDs and
DTRs. It would most likely be of benefit to know: What knowledge and skills are characterized as essential or
desirable for a successful job candidate? To this end, a study of position announcements for nutrition and
dietetics jobs was undertaken.
2. Methods
From 2010 through 2013, we collected the information contained in two publicly available e-mail lists which
post position announcements for jobs in nutrition and dietetics. These were: the New York State Registered
Dietitian Yahoo group, and the Hunter College Nutrition and Food Sciences student and alumni listserv (NFS-L).
Information from the New York Registered Dietitian Yahoo news group listings had been derived by searching
the following websites (http://www.indeed.com/q-dietitian-l-New-York-state-jobs.html,
https://www.linkedin.com, http://www.nutritionjobs.com, http://www.idealist.org,
http://jobsearch.nytimes.monster.com/jobs, and http://eatrightny.org), using the key words: Dietitian, Dietician,
Nutrition, and Nutritionist, singly or in combination. Positions posted to the NFS-L had been sent to Hunter
Nutrition faculty for distribution by various area employers. In total, four hundred and twelve (412) individual
job postings in the dietetics/nutrition field were recorded. Each job posting was assigned a unique identification
code number. Duplicate postings were removed. These documents were then subjected to a content analysis as
has been described elsewhere (Busch et al, 2012; Kris-Etherton et al, 2001). To conduct the content analysis of
these postings, keywords were identified using the job categories defined by the Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics (AND) compensation and benefits survey (Rogers, 2014). This served as a starting point to enumerate
the types of positions that have been posted for the New York metropolitan area in recent years.
2.1 Variable Extraction
The information gathered was categorized into the following variables:
• Titles advertised: Information was gathered on the exact job titles representing the advertised job
positions.
• Title categories: The actual job position titles advertised were combined to form broader categories of
12 groups including: Registered Dietitian staff, administrative/management, community work-not RD,
RD specialist, intern/volunteer, admin-not RD, research work, culinary, diet technician, sales,
writer/media work and others. This was done to facilitate analysis and interpretation.
• Complete name of the hiring organization: The complete name of the hiring organization was
recorded.
• Employment sector: Information was gathered on the types of industries requiring dietitians and
nutritionists listed in the job postings. They included: non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations,
government agencies, academia, and hospitals.
• Advancement opportunities: Information regarding advancement opportunities including the ability of
the organizations to encourage professional growth was recorded.
• Location: The specific locations for the positions were recorded.
• Responsibility level: Job postings were categorized into several responsibility levels including: staff,
supervisor, manager, director, executive, faculty /research, consultant, intern, volunteer and unknown.
• On-site responsibilities: information was gathered on the required work responsibilities listed for each
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job posting.
• Work setting: The types of facilities seeking employees were recorded.
• Comorbid condition of client population: Information was gathered on the comorbidities experienced
by the patient populations requiring dietitian/nutritionist services.
• Practice area of primary position: The actual job posting titles were classified into practice areas as
designated by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).
• Academic degree qualification: Academic qualifications including: Associates, Bachelors, Masters
and Doctoral degrees required for each position were noted.
• Credentials: The credentials that candidates were required to possess including: RD-Registered
Dietitian, DTR-Dietetic Technician Registered, CDE- Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified
Dietitian-Nutritionist, Certified Nutrition Support Clinician, Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition,
Certified Dietary Manager and Certified Food Protection Professional were recorded.
• Language: Language requirements including: Spanish, French, Cantonese and Mandarin listed in the
job postings were recorded. Information on additional language requirements including bi-lingual
preference was also noted.
• Knowledge and skills: Information was gathered on the required and preferred knowledge and skills
for each of the job postings.
• Prior experience: Information was gathered on the required number of years of working experience for
each of the job postings.
• Compensation: Information regarding wages, salary and other forms of compensation were recorded
for the job postings where available.
• Work sc hed ule : Information on the required number of working hours daily including: full time, part
time, fee for service/consulting or commensurate and the working time schedule including: weekdays,
weekends and evenings were recorded.
• Submit application to/at: Information regarding the job search engines where the job postings were
advertised and the full names of the human resource personnel designated to receive the job
applications were documented.
• Other: Information regarding the job application websites and contact information including phone
numbers, and email address were also recorded.
3. Content Analysis
A site license was obtained to utilize the NVivo10, a qualitative analysis software package (QSR International
2014) to extract categorization data from the raw position announcements. Through this content analysis,
additional employer-desired skill and credential – specific categories were created. Content data extraction and
coding were done by a graduate assistant (A.S.). Once the various data categories were created, quantitative
statistical analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.0. Descriptive tests were carried out for the various
categorical variables and results were reported as frequency distributions.
4. Results
Four hundred and twelve (412) individual job postings were recorded from the original data sources. The actual
job posting titles advertised were condensed into broader categories of 12 groups to facilitate analysis and
interpretation. Figure 1 shows that Registered Dietitian staff positions (RD staff) (34%, n=139);
administrative/management positions (26%, n=109); community work positions (15%, n=63); Registered
Dietitian specialists (7%, n=27); and intern/volunteer positions (5%, n=22); were the most frequently advertised
job posting categories.
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Figure 1. Categories created for job postings based on the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)
Job postings under the Registered Dietitian staff category were frequently advertised using the actual titles:
Registered Dietitians (11%, n=46), dietitians (7%, n=27), and clinical dietitians (6%, n=24).
Administrative/management category frequently included the job titles: clinical nutrition manager (2%, n=10),
food service director (1.2%, n=5) and site coordinator (0.5%, n=2). The community work category included the
job titles: nutritionist (5%, n=21), community nutrition educator (1%, n=4), and WIC nutritionist (0.7%, n=3).
The Registered Dietitian specialist category included the job titles: Certified Diabetes Educator (1.2%, n=5),
diabetes educator (0.5%, n=2), and practice diabetes educator (0.5%, n=2).
Job postings were further categorized by responsibility level and included: Executive, director, manager,
supervisor, consultant, faculty/research, interns, and volunteers. Staff positions (65%, n=267), manager positions
(14%, n=58), and director positions (9%, n=36) were the most frequently advertised (Figure 2a).
Figure 2a. Distribution of advertised positions by responsibility levels
The most common types of facilities requiring dietitians/nutritionists included: acute inpatient hospitals, AIH
(12%, n=51), food bank or assistance programs (5%, n=20), and food companies (4.6%, n=19) (Figure 2b). The
diagnostic groups most frequently mentioned as patient populations requiring dietitian/nutritionist services were:
HIV/AIDS (7%, n=29), diabetes (8%, n=32), obesity (5%, n=22), and eating disorders (2%, n=9).
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Figure2b. Facilities requiring dietitians/nutritionists
Consistent with the types of positions selected for this study, the majority of the job postings advertised required
that candidates possess at least one of the following credentials: Registered Dietitian (RD) (33%, n=136),
Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist (CDN) (5%, n=19), and Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) (4%, n=18).
Academic qualifications most frequently required were Bachelor’s degrees (50%, n=205) and Master’s degrees
(28%, n=116) degrees, with only 2% requiring a doctoral degree. For those mentioning previous work
experience, nine percent (n=38) of the employment opportunities required candidates to have obtained at most 5
years of relevant working experience.
In terms of skills desired for these positions, client/customer focus (64%, n=262), data record maintenance (50%,
n=204), and network/outreach skills (41%, n=171), were the most frequently listed in the job postings (Figure 3).
Additional skills and expertise required from candidates included: being able to communicate effectively (39%,
n=162), having computer/ Microsoft office skills (30%, n=122), flexibility to travel (24%, n=98), being detail
oriented (20%, n=83), having clinical experience (17%, n=68), organizational skills (14%, n=59), research skills
(15%, n=60), and fluency in Spanish (16%, n=57). Six percent (n=25) of job postings required candidates who
were bilingual.
Figure 3. Frequently required job responsibilities among employment opportunities advertise
4.1 Interrelations between job categories and the associated job responsibilities
Staff positions (65%, n=267), manager positions (14%, n=58), and director positions (9%, n=36), were the most
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commonly advertised job postings, based on responsibility level. (Figure 2a).
Registered Dietitian staff (48%, n=129), community work-not RD (21%, n=55), administrative/management
(10%, n=26), and Registered Dietitian specialist (10%, n=26), were some of the common job title categories for
the advertised staff positions (Figure 1). Actual job titles utilized in advertising the various staff positions
commonly included: Registered Dietitian (16%, n=44), clinical dietitian (8.6%, n=23), dietician (9%, n=25), and
nutrition technical advisor (6%, n=16). Staff positions usually required one year of experience. Having a
bachelor’s degree was the most common academic qualification required (43%, n=114), and in few cases
preferred (2%, n=6), for staff positions. Seven percent, (n=20) of the advertised staff positions required a
Master’s degree, while 18% (n=49) positions preferred this. Almost half of the staff positions required that
candidates possess a Registered Dietitian credential (42%, n=113), 6% (n=16) required a Certified
Dietitian-Nutritionist credential (CDN), while 4% (n=11) preferred a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).
The most frequently required knowledge, skills and expertise for the staff positions included: effective
communication (42%, n=112), proficiency in computer/Microsoft office (29%, n=77), detail oriented (18%,
n=47), organizational (15%, n=40), and research skills (12%, n=33). Fluency in Spanish was required by 11%
(n=29), and preferred by 7% (n=20), of the advertised staff positions, while 4% (n=12) preferred bilingual
candidates.
Acute Inpatient Hospitals (AIH) were the most common types of facilities filling staff positions (13%, n=36).
Others included: food bank or assistance program (5%, n=13), long term care (5%, n=13), and school/childcare
(4%, n=10). client/ customer focus (62%, n=166), data record maintenance (48%, n=128), and networking/
outreach (42%, n=112) were the most commonly listed job responsibilities for the advertised staff positions. The
patient populations which frequently required the services of the advertised staff positions included: HIV/AIDS
(8%, n=22), diabetes (10%, n=27), and obesity (5%, n=12).
Manager positions were the second most commonly advertised job postings, based on responsibility level (14%,
n=58) (Figure 2a). Administrative/management (72%, n=42) and community work-not RD (3%, n=2) were some
of the common job title categories for the advertised manager positions (Figure 1). Actual job titles utilized in
advertising the various manager positions commonly included: clinical nutrition manager (17%, n=10). Others
included: health marketing manager, medical case manager, and diabetes care manager (2%, n=1).
Manager positions mostly required one to three years of work experience (14%, n=8), as well as a Registered
Dietitian credential (14%, n=8). Having a bachelor’s degree was the most common academic qualification
required (48%, n=28), while a Master’s degree required in 12% (n=7), and preferred in 16% (n=9) of all job
postings for manager positions.
The frequently required knowledge, skills and expertise listed for manager positions included: effective
communication (57%, n=33), detail oriented (38%, n=22), clinical experience (19%, n=11), proficiency in
computer /Microsoft office (38%, n=22), and research (22%, n=13). Fluency in Spanish was required by 12%
(n=7), and preferred by 11% (n=6) of all the related job postings. Acute inpatient hospitals (17%, n=10), food
companies (14%, n=8) and school/childcare (10%, n=6) were the most common facilities seeking candidates for
management positions. Client customer focus (62%, n=36), data record maintenance (52%, n=30), networking/
outreach (39%, n=22), and financial management (35%, n=20) were some of the common work responsibilities
listed for manager positions.
Director positions were the third most commonly advertised job postings, based on responsibility level (9%,
n=36) (Figure 2a). Administrative/management (97%, n=35), and Admin-not RD (3%, n=1) were some of the
common job title categories for the advertised director positions (Figure 1). Actual job titles utilized in
advertising the various director positions commonly included: food service director (14%, n=5), and director of
dinning services (6%, n=2).
Director positions frequently required one to three years of work experience (11%, n=4), and less commonly
required a Registered Dietitian credential (8%, n=3). Half of the advertised director positions required a
bachelor’s degree (50%, n=18), while 36% (n=13) required a Master’s degree as the minimum academic
qualification. The frequently required knowledge, skills and expertise listed for director positions included:
effective communication (31%, n =11), computer/Microsoft office (25%, n=9), food service (17%, n=6),
management (14%, n=5), and organizational skills (12%, n=4).
Acute inpatient hospitals (8%, n=3), college/campus food (8%, n=3), and food bank or assistance program (6%,
n=2), were the most common facilities posting director positions. Client/customer focus (69%, n=25), data
record maintenance (61%, n=22), care coordination and delivery (44%, n=16), networking/outreach (39%, n=14),
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and financial management (28%, n=10) were some of the common work responsibilities listed for director
positions.
Table 1. Interrelations between job categories and the associated job responsibilities
Staff
Frequency
(N, %)
Manager
Frequency
(N, %)
Director
Frequency
(N, %)
Academic qualification/credentials required
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Registered Dietitian credential
Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist (CDN)
Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)
43% (114)
7% (20)
42% (113)
6% (16)
4% (11)
48% (28)
12% (7)
14% (8)
50% (18)
36% (13)
8% (3)
Knowledge, skills and expertise required
Effective communication
Proficiency in MS Office
Detail oriented
Organizational skills
Research
Fluency in Spanish
42% (112)
29% (77)
18% (47)
15% (40)
12% (33)
11% (29)
57% (33)
38% (22)
38% (22)
12% (7)
31% (11)
25% (9)
Common facilities requiring candidates
Acute Inpatient Hospitals (AIH)
Food bank or assistance program
School/childcare
13% (36)
5% (13)
4% (10)
17% (10)
14% (8)
10% (6)
8% (3)
6% (2)
Job responsibilities
Client / customer focus
Data record maintenance
Networking / outreach
62% (166)
48% (128)
42% (112)
62% (36)
52% (30)
39% (22)
69% (25)
61% (22)
39% (14)
5. Discussion
The descriptive statistics above can be compared to what has been previously said regarding needs for
qualifications and skills in the dietetics workforce. The Registered Dietitian credential was the most common
credential requirement listed in the job postings in our study (33%, n=136). This finding was consistent with
results of the Compensation and Benefits Survey of the dietetics profession 2013, showing that Registered
Dietitians had the ‘highest prevalence of dietetics related employment’ (84%, n=7,783) (Kris-Etherton, et al.,
2001). This same survey indicated that Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR), had the second highest
‘prevalence of dietetics related employment’ (76%, n=1142) (Kris-Etherton, et al., 2001). Our study recorded
only 2% (n=5) of staff positions requiring this credential.
The Compensation and Benefits Survey of 2013 reported that almost half (47%) of the practicing Registered
Dietitians had obtained Master’s degrees as their highest level of education. However, less than one-third of the
job postings in our study listed a Master’s degree as a requirement (28%, n=116). These findings were not
consistent with AND recommendations that a Master’s degree should serve as the entry level standard for
dietetics practice (Hooker et al., 2012; Kicklighter et al., 2013). The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)
has announced that candidates must possess a Master’s degree in order to take the Registered Dietitian
Examination as of 2024. Thus, whether they have specified so or not in their position announcements, any that
require an RD, will de facto also require a Master’s degree.
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5.1 Patient Populations
“The population of the United States continues to grow in racial and ethnic diversity, but RDs remain
overwhelmingly white and female” (Hooker et al., 2012). Measurement issues (e.g. changing response categories
and differing populations) preclude strict comparisons, but the AND Compensation Surveys show essentially no
change from 2002 to 2011 in the percentage of RDs who are men (~3%), Asian (~5%), black (~2%), and
Hispanic (~3%). This is true not only for RDs as a whole, but also for the most recent registrants (first 5 years), a
group where increasing diversity might especially be expected.” This continues to be an area of concern for the
dietetics profession and was reflected in our study results. We also found the need for language skills to be
evident in our study results, with Spanish (16%), French (3%) and Cantonese (3%) being most often sought.
While learning a second language is not routinely included in dietetics curricula, it is likely to enhance the
versatility and hence employability of graduates. This finding is also reflective of a need for recruitment and
training of more diverse dietitians and nutritionists, especially those with language skills.
5.2 Educational Needs and Standards Development
In the context of curriculum planning and development of future educational standards, we compared the results
of this study to ACEND 2012 learning objectives for DPD and DI programs (ACEND, 2015), and identified how
well these curriculum requirements matched up with identified workforce demands (Ta b l e 2 ) .
Table 2. Skills prioritized by employers compared with ACEND 2012 Learning Objectives
Skills Identified DPD Learning Objectives (9) DI Learning Objectives (10)
Client customer focus
Suggestion to be incorporated in the DPD
curriculum
Suggestion to be incorporated in the DI
curriculum
Clinical Nutrition
Assessments
Medical Nutrition
therapy
Data record maintenance
Maintain medical charts
Care coordination and
delivery
KRD 3.1 The curriculum should incorporate
Medical nutrition therapy, development and
implementation of nutrition interventions.
CRD 3.1 Perform the Nutrition Care
Process (a through e below) and use
standardized nutrition language for
individuals, and diverse population
groups in a variety of settings
a. Assess the nutritional status of
individuals, groups and populations in a
variety of settings where nutrition care is
or can be delivered
b. Diagnose nutrition problems and
create problem, etiology, signs and
symptoms (PES) statements
c. Plan and implement nutrition
interventions to include prioritizing the
nutrition diagnosis, formulating a
nutrition prescription, establishing goals
and selecting and managing intervention
d. Monitor and evaluate problems,
etiologies, signs, symptoms and the
impact of interventions on the nutrition
diagnosis
e. Complete documentation that follows
professional guidelines required by
health care systems and guidelines
required by the practice setting.
Financial Management KRD 4.5 The curriculum must include content
related to coding and billing of dietetics/nutrition
services to obtain reimbursement for services
CRD 4.6 Analyze quality, financial or
productivity data and develop a plan for
reimbursement
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from public or private insurer CRD 4.8 Ascertaining feasibility and
cost effectiveness of services with
consideration of costs and benefits.
CRD 4.9 Analyze financial data to
assess utilization of resources
CRD 4.10 Develop a plan to provide or
develop a product, program or service
that includes a budget, staffing needs,
equipment and supplies
CRD 4.11 Code and bill for
dietetic/nutrition services to obtain
reimbursement from public or private
insurers.
Develop/Evaluates
policies and procedures
KRD 4.1 The curriculum should incorporate
management training knowledge
KRD 4.2 The curriculum must include content
related to quality management of food and
nutrition services.
CRD 2.8 Develop and utilize appropriate
leadership skills
CRD 4.7 Utilize appropriate procedures
to maximize use of available resources
ICP/CCP/Care plan
participation
KRD 3.1 The curriculum should incorporate
Medical nutrition therapy, development and
implementation of nutrition interventions
CRD 2.5 Demonstrate active
participation, teamwork and
contributions in group settings
Strategy initiatives
Program Implementation
Networking/outreach
KRD 4.1 The curriculum should incorporate
management training knowledge
KRD 4.2 The curriculum must include content
related to quality management of food and
nutrition services.
CRD 1.1 Select indicators of program
quality and/or customer service and
measure achievement of objectives
CRD 2.8 Develop and utilize leadership
skills
Research
Obtaining/updating
literature
KRD 1.1 The curriculum must reflect the
scientific basis of the dietetics profession and
must include research methodology,
interpretation of research literature and
integration of research principles into evidence
based practice.
CRD 1.2 Utilize evidence-based
guidelines from notable sources
including the DHHS, AHRQ and
Cochrane databases in nutrition practice
CRD 1.4 Evaluate emerging research for
application in dietetics practice
CRD 1.5 Utilize empirical research
methods and procedures
Quality
Assurance/Adherence
KRD 4.2 The curriculum must include content
related to quality management of food and
nutrition services.
CRD 1.1 Select indicators of program
quality and/or customer service and
measure achievement of objectives
CRD 2.8 Develop and utilize appropriate
leadership skills
Oversee/train staff KRD 4.1 The curriculum should incorporate
management training knowledge
KRD 4.2 The curriculum must include content
related to quality management of food and
nutrition services.
CRD 2.4 Utilize evidence-based
methods to effect changes in behavior
CRD 2.8 Develop and utilize appropriate
leadership skills
CRD 3.2 Demonstrate effective
communications skills for clinical and
customer services in a variety of formats.
CRD 4.1 Participate in management of
human resources
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Diabetes education KRD 2.1 The curriculum must include
opportunities to develop a variety of
communication skills sufficient for entry into
pre-professional practice.
KRD 2.2 The curriculum should incorporate
validated standard methods of counseling
KRD 3.3 The curriculum must include education
and behavior change theories and techniques.
CRD 2.4 Utilize evidence-based
methods to effect changes in behavior
Performance appraisals KRD 2.1 The curriculum must include
opportunities to develop a variety of
communication skills sufficient for entry into
pre-professional practice.
KRD 2.2 The curriculum should incorporate
validated standard methods of counseling
KRD 3.3 The curriculum must include education
and behavior change theories and techniques.
CRD 2.4 Utilize evidence-based
methods to effect changes in behavior
CRD 2.8 Develop and utilize appropriate
leadership skills
CRD 3.2 Demonstrate effective
communications skills for clinical and
customer services in a variety of formats.
CRD 4.1 Participate in management of
human resources
Product/ recipe
development
KRD 5.1 Food systems should be incorporated in
the curriculum.
“Course content must include the principles of
food science and food systems, techniques of
food preparation and application to the
development, modification and evaluation of
recipes, menus and food products acceptable to
diverse groups”.
CRD 3.3 Develop and deliver products,
programs or services that promote
consumer health, wellness and lifestyle
management
CRD 3.6 identify and develop recipes,
formulas and menus for acceptability and
affordability that accommodate the
cultural diversity and health needs of
various populations, groups and
individuals.
Computer skills /
Microsoft Office
**Needs to be incorporated** **Needs to be incorporated**
The table above is an example of how the skills most often listed as required or desired for positions in nutrition
and dietetics might be met with some of the learning objectives for DPD and DI programs set forth by ACEND.
While there is some degree of alignment, it is not complete. While some areas such as MNT are well represented,
others are less so, and some are lacking.
While “client/customer focus” is implied by some of the KRs and CRDs, it is not explicitly stated as an objective.
Since it has been identified as required or desired by the majority of employers, approaching this concept in a
more overt way in nutrition and dietetics curricula would be desirable. “Data record maintenance” is related to
documentation, which is related to the Nutrition Care Process (NCP), but likely also includes informatics, coding,
and other factors. Computer skills and specifically proficiency in using Microsoft Office were stated as required
or desired for many positions. While most dietetics education programs make use of common software and use
computers to carry out both didactic and field assignments, it bears noting that these skills cannot be considered
a “given” for all students. Resources should be made available to learn and practice computer skills as needed
during education and training, and competency evaluated.
The major limitation of this study is its specificity to one geographical area. While it is probable that similar
results would be found for other urban areas, with similar demographics, other areas may have different
employee needs. A larger study including wider and more representative geographical areas is needed to
generalize findings to broader population areas. Another limitation is that the position listings examined were
from sources targeted specifically to Registered Dietitians, and dietetics students. These may not be
representative of all the positions available to people with degrees in nutrition. A broader search may have
captured more DTR and non-RD nutritionist positions.
6. Conclusion
This study has begun the exploration of the skills and credentials desired by the employers of nutrition and
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24
dietetics graduates. This is a perspective that has been lacking in previous literature on this topic. While our
findings have supported the continued need for many of the ACEND 2012 learning objectives, others were
absent from the list of skills most highly prioritized by these employers. Furthermore, the emphasis on
client/customer focus, and need computer literacy, though they may be considered implicit in the ACEND
objectives, may better be instilled in students by a more overt course of instruction on these topics.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
This project involved analysis of publicly available documents, and not human or animal subjects and so it was
determined to be exempt from review by the City University of New York IRB. The study was funded by an
internal PSC-CUNY grant and there are no potential conflicts of interest identified.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Kyle Shadix MS, RD for his assistance with the Yahoo group job listings.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
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