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Dietitians Salary
By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: January, 12 2010
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What is the average dietitian salary?
The dietitian salary ranges depends on a variety of factors including the field within dietetics a person is employed, years of experience, and geographic location. An average annual salary for a clinical dietitian may be between $40-60,000 per year. Of course, with more experience, that rate likely increases. As a general rule, 2% is added to the salary per year of experience. Dietitians in public health, and management typically have higher salaries as compared to clinical dietetics. Dietitians in business, communications and retail settings typically have higher compensation due to experience and varying job responsibilities. Dietitians in a private practice setting have the potential to earn more annually but usually work longer hours.Is there room for advancement in this field?
Depending on the specific area a dietitian is employed, he or she may be able to advance. For dietitians who work in food service
they could advance to the food service manager, and then to food service director. In a hospital setting a dietitian could advance to the director of hospitality services but this would likely mean he or she is not practicing clinically but is in more of a management role. Oftentimes in this profession, the further one advances, the more he or she is shifting out of the patient care role and into management.
What is required for advancement in this field?
Depending on the specific area a dietitian is employed, he or she may be able to advance. For dietitians who work in food service they could advance to the food service manager, and then to food service director. To advance in food service a dietitian will likely need more business classes because he or she will need to be able to understand the financial side of his or her department, review budgets, and look at controlling costs. Working in a hospital setting a dietitian could advance to the director of hospitality services but this would likely mean he or she is not practicing clinically but is in more of a management role. Oftentimes in this profession, the further one advances, the more he or she shifts out of the patient care role and into management. In general, to advance in this field it would help to gain further education and to obtain a specialty certification in the area you want to emphasize, such as eating disorders or kidney diseases.What kind of hours do dietitians work?
One of the perks of this field is that unlike other health care professions, dietitians typically work regular daytime hours rather than shift work. Depending on the size of the hospital, there can be weekend rotations involved as part of the job, but as a general rule dietitians work regular hours, Monday through Friday. There are also part time employment opportunities available in this field depending on the size of the facility.Is this a high demand career field?
Dietitians are needed now more than ever before due to the rise of weight problems and increasing occurrence of numerous disease states in this country. Positions within acute-care facilities are generally available in most cities. The size of the facility will dictate how many clinical dietitians are employed. The general rule is that there must be two and a half dietitians per 250 beds within the hospital setting. There may be 15-20 nurses in a hospital center and just one to two dietitians. There can be two different types of jobs available in clinical settings – foodservice/management and counseling of patients. Aside from clinical positions, there are many alternative positions that dietitians hold today. You can find dietitians working for magazines, Internet sites, as well as all of the types of nutrition jobs discussed on this website.What other types of professionals do dietitians work with?
Dietitians regularly work with behavioral health professionals (social workers, therapists), nursing home staff, culinary/foodservice staff, home health care providers, and family members or caregivers. For a dietitian working at a health department, they may work within different public service/health agencies to obtain food stamps, WIC, and other resources their clientele may need or benefit from. Dietitians work with social workers to get referrals for those individuals who can’t afford food or medicine. For instance, if a diabetic person sees a dietitian and tells them he or she cannot afford food and has already been to the food pantry their allowable number of times, the dietitian will refer him or her to a social worker. Another example of a social worker referral is if a patient tells a dietitian that once his or her medication runs out, he or she cannot afford to refill it.Dietetic Technicians (DTRs) work under the guidance of registered dietitians in hospitals, outpatient facilities, long-term care facilities, schools, and more. Many are employed in food service roles and others may assist the RD in completing nutrition screening and assessments of patients. DTRs are somewhat common, but employment rates are expected to increase 10-20% over the next eight years.
To be eligible for the DTR exam, an individual must complete an associate’s degree accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics Education along with at least 400 hours of supervised practice. There is also the option to complete an accredited bachelor’s degree program and forgo the 400 hours.
