Shani Reid

In the fast paced life, being 'healthy' is a no longer a fad, it is a necessity for the often sedentary lifestyles that we are living. For most 'diet and nutrition' often lead them to unused subscriptions and visits not paid to the gym, or those old pair of jeans as women affectionately call them 'my skinny jeans' that they wore in high school, before the baby, before the wedding.

However daily food intake often times can be regulated which is where the services of health professionals' dieticians and nutritionists come into being.

Who are Dieticians?
Dieticians and Nutritionists plan food and nutrition programs and supervise meal preparation and service, they assist with the prevention and treatment of illnesses e.g. diabetes or kidney illnesses and encourage healthy eating habits and propose dietary modifications for e.g. the use of less salt. The health care sector is definitely a booming industry with millions of dollars being spent on regulatory medicine, diet pills, online subscription to diet plans and health club memberships. So how does one become a part of one of the highest grossing industries, well in this feature you'll learn what you need to get in, where you need to study and the opportunities available!

General Job Description

Daily activities of a dietician/nutritionist entail but are not limited to assessing an individual's, nutrition status; implement a nutrition guide, counseling family members and patients. General activities also include performing administrative tasks, judge the qualities of food and health of patients, develop objectives and strategies, identify events for e.g. how a patient's health has responded as a result of a change in diet, update and use job-related knowledge and evaluate information against standards. In addition there are different types of dieticians there are;

Clinical dieticians; who provide nutritional services for patients in institutions such as hospitals and nursing care facilities, evaluate patient's nutritional needs, develop nutrition implement nutrition programs, assess and report the results.

Clinical dieticians confer with doctors and other health care professionals to coordinate medical and nutritional needs; you may specialize in the care of the critically ill, diabetic patients or weight management or may manage the food service department.

Community dieticians counsel individuals and groups on nutritional practices designed to thwart disease and promote health.


Management dieticians oversee large scale meal planning and preparation in health care facilities, company cafeterias, prisons and schools; they also employ other dieticians and food service workers; budget for and purchase food, equipment and supplies; enforce sanity and safety regulations and prepare records and reports.

Consultant dieticians work under contract with health care facilities or in their own private practice, performing nutrition screenings for clients and offering advice on diet related concerns.

Employment Opportunities

Opportunities for employment are far ranging especially with the increased public interest in health, weight management and nutrition, leading to opportunities in food manufacturing, advertising, marketing many dieticians and nutritionists. \

In Jamaica one may find opportunities working in hospitals, local health centers, in teaching and research, dieticians and nutritionists may find employment at the Bureau of Standards and sporting environments, wellness programmes and supermarkets.

Dr. Christine Powell course director at the University of the West Indies says ' There are opportunities but they might not necessarily present themselves as jobs in traditional places' she believes that aspiring dieticians should 'seek out markets and opportunities for themselves and develop services' to meet existing needs of people.

Where to study

The University of Technology offers a four year programmed in Dietetics and Nutrition in which you may receive a Bachelor of Science, matriculation requirements for the University of Technology are five CXC subjects, four of which must be Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Food and Nutrition.

The Northern Caribbean University also offers a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics, their programme is for a duration of four years and matriculation requirements are five CXC subjects inclusive of Mathematics, English Language, Chemistry or another science subject, however prospective students without Chemistry will need to do one year of Chemistry at the University in order to participate in the course.

The University of the West Indies offers a Masters of Science Degree in Dietetics; matriculation requirements are that applicants must be graduates of approved universities with a minimum of a lower second class honours or equivalent, preferably with a science background in Natural Science, Social Sciences or Agriculture.

The master's programme is three semesters a total of fifteen months, there is no specialization at the present, however all students do core courses, they are:

• Concepts and Principles of Nutrition Sciences
• Essentials of Scientific Method “ Research Methods, Epidemiology and Statistics
• Clinical Nutrition and Public Health Nutrition

These are taught courses which are followed by a six month research project.

Within the states supervised practice experience may be obtained in two ways, The first option requires the completion of a Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics and Education (CADE) accredited program. The second option requires the completion of 900 hours of supervised practice in any of the 265 CADE accredited internships. These internships are far ranging and may last from six to twelve months or part time programs lasting two years.

Job traits
Rosalee Brown a nutritionist based at the Cornwall Regional Hospital says that the traits and personalities of an individual with a desire to enter the field have to be first a 'people person' is able to concentrate for long periods of time and should definitely possess teaching and counseling skills, in her opinion the industry within Jamaica needs a significant increase in the amount of people who enter the field, she says there is a definite need but not many people are entering.

The health industry is considered to have the most growth and impact by the year 2014 according to reports. If you possess the ability to show active listening, teach and enjoy the sciences then a career as a dietician may be for you, related occupations are food service managers, health educators, dietetic technicians and registered nurses who all liaise with nutritionists and dieticians about the best possible way to ensure good health, here's to healthy living.

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