Celebrating Registered Dietitians!
Written by: Mirieta Selimovska, MHSc. Reviewed by: Lisa Mina, RD
To honour Canada’s trusted nutrition experts, the third Wednesday of March is celebrated as Dietitian’s Day! This is a special time of year to recognize those in our communities who play a profound role in improving the health and lives of many people - Registered Dietitians (RDs). To get to know your RDs a little bit better, here’s what you need to know.
RDs are regulated health professionals and Canada’s premiere nutrition experts. To earn their protected title, RDs must meet the educational prerequisites set by their province’s regulatory body, e.g. College of Dietitians of Ontario. This includes a minimum 4-year Bachelors degree in nutrition, followed by a 1-year internship where practical training is gained.Sometimes, registered dietitians gain their credentials by completing their practical training as part of a combined Masters degree program in nutrition. Following this, a national registration exammust be passed in order to obtain a license to practice as a RD. Some dietitians have further degrees as well, such as a Masters or PhD and specialize in certain practice areas.
Nutrition is a science and the research is always changing. Being committed to lifelong learning, and using the best, most recent research, skills and techniques to inform their practice is a significant part of any RD’s job and their ability to safely and successfully help others.Dietetics remains a strongly regulated and evidence-based health profession that is largely governed by professional standards and a code of ethics.
Most RDs work directly with people, helping to treat and prevent diseases, such as in hospitals, clinics or private practice. Many are also found working in community or public health settings, in addition to research, academia, government, media and food industry. For a glimpse of the variety of places where you might find an RD, watch the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGY3iiQGXnY. To learn more about RDs in Canada, visit the Dietitians of Canada website, https://www.dietitians.ca/.
GoodumsTMis proud to be a dietitian-founded food company, and to offer families a line of wholesome bake mixes that reflect the passion and values for good nutrition that our founder, Lisa Mina, has been sharing with others throughout her career. In addition to bringing families together by baking together, helping to navigate through the complex science of food is also important to GoodumsTM. Be sure to explore the Health Hub here on our website for more credible nutrition information.
References:
Dietitians CAN. (2017, October, 13). We are Dietitians: Our Core Story [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGY3iiQGXnY
Dietitians of Canada. (2020). Learn About Dietitians. Retrieved March 7, 2020, from https://www.dietitians.ca/About/Learn-About-Dietitians
What is a Dietitian? (2020, March 2). Retrieved March 7, 2020, from https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Nutrition-Month/What-is-a-Dietitian
