Occupation · SOC 29-1031
Dietitians and Nutritionists
Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.
Median wage
$73,850
$48,830–$101,760
Projected growth
+5.5%
Average growth
Annual openings
500
per year
Employed (US)
76,570
Job Zone 5
Typical preparation
Extensive preparation
Stackable credential programs
409 mapped
Core skills
Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingJudgment and Decision MakingCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessWritingService Orientation
Knowledge areas
BiologyMedicine and DentistryEnglish LanguageTherapy and CounselingCustomer and Personal Service
Technology & tools
Analytical or scientific softwareMedical softwareData base user interface and query softwareCloud-based data access and sharing softwareGraphics or photo imaging software
Representative tasks
Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietaEvaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutritio
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Nutritional needs assessments — conduct initial screenings under clinical supervision using structured intake forms in an inpatient or outpatient healthcare setting.Dietary-care plan components — identify and document appropriate plan elements by following established protocols under the direction of a supervising dietitian.Laboratory test results — interpret basic nutrition-related values such as albumin and glucose levels with guidance from a licensed clinician in a hospital environment.Nutritional counseling sessions — co-facilitate group education classes on healthy eating habits under direct supervision in a community health center.Patient and family dietary advisement — deliver scripted guidance on standard dietary plans and food selection principles under clinical oversight in an ambulatory care setting.Cultural and religious dietary preferences — recognize and document patient-specific food restrictions and incorporate them into preliminary care plans with supervisor review.Physician and healthcare team consultations — participate in multidisciplinary care conferences, gathering information on diet restrictions and nutritional needs under direction in an acute care facility.Patient health and food history records — collect and enter comprehensive diet, allergy, and medication histories into electronic health record systems following department documentation standards.Nutrition monitoring data — track patient dietary intake using spreadsheet software and flag deviations from prescribed plans for review by a supervising practitioner.Special-needs recipes and menus — assist in adapting or selecting existing low-glycemic, gluten-free, or allergen-free menu options under the guidance of a senior dietitian in a clinical nutrition department.
developing
Individualized dietary-care plans — develop and implement comprehensive nutrition interventions for patients with common chronic conditions with reduced oversight in an outpatient clinic.Laboratory-based nutrition recommendations — evaluate metabolic panels, lipid profiles, and micronutrient assays to refine dietary prescriptions routinely in a hospital or specialty clinic setting.Community nutrition counseling — lead group sessions and individual appointments on balanced nutrition and lifestyle modification with minimal supervision in a public health or wellness program.Patient and family diet education — independently advise patients and caregivers on therapeutic dietary modifications, food preparation techniques, and meal planning in a primary care environment.Culturally responsive nutrition plans — adapt dietary interventions to accommodate diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious food practices using established cultural competency frameworks in a diverse urban clinical setting.Interdisciplinary care collaboration — consult regularly with physicians, nurses, and pharmacists to reconcile nutritional needs against medication interactions and evolving care plans in an integrated health system.Comprehensive patient histories — record, analyze, and synthesize food histories, environmental exposures, allergies, and preventive health measures into actionable care summaries using medical software platforms.Therapeutic recipe and menu development — create and refine low-histamine, gluten-free, and allergen-reduced recipes and menu cycles for patients with specific medical dietary requirements in a clinical nutrition department.Nutrition monitoring protocols — systematically monitor and evaluate patient progress against dietary goals using analytical software and adjust care plans based on observed outcomes in a chronic disease management program.Written clinical documentation — compose clear, evidence-based nutrition notes, referral letters, and care summaries using electronic health record and word processing systems in compliance with regulatory standards.
proficient
Complex dietary-care plans — autonomously assess, design, and implement individualized medical nutrition therapy for patients with multimorbid or rare conditions across the full clinical care continuum.Advanced laboratory interpretation — integrate comprehensive biochemical, genomic, and clinical data to formulate precise, evidence-based nutrition recommendations without peer review in a tertiary care or specialty center.High-risk population counseling — facilitate sophisticated, behavior-change-oriented nutrition counseling for individuals with eating disorders, oncological conditions, or renal failure in specialized clinical programs.Non-routine dietary advisement — manage complex cases requiring simultaneous management of multiple dietary restrictions, inborn errors of metabolism, or drug-nutrient interactions in a high-acuity hospital setting.Cross-cultural nutrition plan design — independently develop fully individualized nutrition plans that integrate cultural, ethnic, and religious food systems with clinical evidence for patients from underrepresented populations.Physician consultation and leadership — lead nutrition-focused discussions during multidisciplinary rounds, influencing clinical decision-making on nutritional support and diet therapy in ICU or transplant settings.Comprehensive history and risk analysis — conduct thorough patient and family assessments encompassing toxic exposure, psychosocial factors, genetic predispositions, and environmental variables to inform precision nutrition interventions.Specialized menu and formula creation — independently develop medically validated, novel recipes, enteral feeding formulas, and therapeutic menus for conditions such as phenylketonuria or short-bowel syndrome in a clinical nutrition program.Outcomes evaluation and quality monitoring — apply systems evaluation methods and analytical software to assess population-level nutrition intervention outcomes and refine departmental protocols based on data-driven findings.Instructional program delivery — design and deliver continuing education curricula on advanced nutritional science topics to healthcare colleagues, students, and community stakeholders in academic medical or professional development settings.
advanced
Organizational nutrition strategy — set the strategic direction for clinical nutrition services, defining standards of care and quality benchmarks across a large health system or regional network.Evidence-based policy development — lead the creation and implementation of institution-wide dietary-care protocols, clinical practice guidelines, and regulatory compliance frameworks in a complex healthcare organization.Clinical nutrition workforce development — mentor, supervise, and evaluate dietetic interns, registered dietitians, and allied health staff, cultivating clinical competency and professional growth across a department or division.Executive interdisciplinary leadership — represent the nutrition department on organizational committees, collaborating with executive medical, pharmacy, and nursing leadership to integrate nutritional science into enterprise care models.Population health nutrition programs — design, fund, and evaluate large-scale community or public health nutrition initiatives targeting chronic disease prevention and health equity outcomes across diverse geographic regions.Research and knowledge generation — lead or co-lead original nutrition research programs, securing grant funding, overseeing study design, and disseminating findings in peer-reviewed journals to advance the evidence base.Health system technology integration — direct the selection, implementation, and optimization of medical nutrition software, EHR nutrition modules, and data analytics platforms to enable precision dietetics at scale.Advocacy and professional influence — represent organizational and professional nutrition interests before regulatory agencies, accreditation bodies, and legislative stakeholders to shape nutrition policy at state or national levels.Complex ethical and legal decision-making — provide authoritative guidance on ethically and legally complex nutrition cases — including end-of-life artificial nutrition decisions — for clinical teams and institutional ethics committees in academic medical centers.Continuous quality and innovation leadership — architect and govern continuous improvement systems that evaluate, iterate, and elevate dietary-care delivery across service lines, applying systems evaluation methodologies and population-level outcome data.
Also known as
38 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Diet CounselorHolistic NutritionistDietitian, TeachingAdministrative DietitianCommunity DietitianDiet TherapistPublic Health NutritionistRenal DietitianSports NutritionistDietitian, ResearchRegistered DietitianDiet ConsultantDieticianResearch DietitianNutritionistConsultant DietitianClinical DietitianDietitian, ChiefFood ConsultantClinical NutritionistNutrition CounselorPublic Health DietitianNutrition CoordinatorFood AdvisorRegistered DieticianOncology DietitianDietitianDietistTeaching DietitianDietary AideDietitian, ConsultantOutpatient DietitianClinical DieticianTherapeutic DietitianPediatric DieticianMenu PlannerDietitian, ClinicalNutrition Consultant