One question I’m asked all the time is, what is a dietitian? In Canada, dietitians (can also be called Registered Dietitians or RDs) are experts in food, nutrition and diets, and are regulated health care professionals. This means that the title “dietitian” is protected and not every nutrition professional can use it. Dietitians have specific education and training in addition to being regulated. These requirements are in place to protect the public and to help establish competency and accountability in the services dietitians provide. Dietitians promote health and wellbeing, and prevent or treat nutrition related disorders. They can work with individuals, groups, communities or even populations. You can find dietitians in: hospitals, community health centres, public health units, as part of interprofessional health teams, home care services, long term care facilities, in sports and recreation, in private practices, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, government, research and education. Dietetics is a growing field and it’s likely you’ll be able to find dietitians in other areas as well.
In Ontario, the Regulated Health Professions Act and the Dietetics Act are laws that outline the obligations and scope of practice (i.e., the procedures, actions and processes permitted) of dietitians. The College of Dietitians of Ontario is the regulatory body that governs dietetics in Ontario to make sure that the public can access safe, ethical and quality nutrition services by dietitians. The college has many roles including:
Regulatory body for dietitians in Ontario
setting out the requirements to become a dietitian;
enforcing professional practice standards;
monitoring dietitians to make sure dietitians keep up with their knowledge and skills;
updating the online registration so the public can verify that a dietitian is registered to practice; and,
responding to and investigating complaints against dietitians to make sure the public is protected.
If you have a concern or complaint against a dietitian, you can follow these instructions to contact the College of Dietitians of Ontario.
In terms of the education and training required to become a dietitian, they must obtain an undergraduate degree from an accredited university in nutrition and complete a supervised practical experience. The practical experience provides opportunities to apply nutrition knowledge in a variety of areas including clinical, food service, community, and public health settings. Dietitians must also pass the Canadian Dietetic Registration Examination, which tests their knowledge and judgement. These requirements ensure that dietitians meet the minimum knowledge and skills needed to provide professional and evidence-based nutrition services.
Dietitians can help you with your health and nutrition goals by working with you to make food and nutritional changes that are sustainable. Dietitians are able to use their training to develop nutrition plans that are tailored to your individual needs, tastes, personal and cultural preferences and food skills. With all the (sometimes conflicting) nutrition information that’s available, dietitians are also well suited to help you navigate through the constantly changing realms of nutrition research, food trends and fad diets.
If you are interested in receiving nutrition services by dietitians, you can contact us here. You can also call Telehealth Ontario toll-free at 1-888-797-0000 (or toll-free TTY at 1-888-797-0007) where the Registered Nurse taking your call will connect you to a dietitian that can provide you with free food and healthy eating information.
