Dietetics Professionals: From Type A to Type All Over the Place!

As I start the 23rd week of my dietetic internship, I have 3 rotations to look back on and 17 dietetics professionals as role models to learn from. One attribute that sticks out about each of the professionals I have worked with is they do not fit into a “mold” of what many people may perceive a dietitian would be like. I have often heard people describe dietitians as “Type A” personalities whose lives revolve around eating salads and drinking pressed juices. These “stereotypes” are applicable to some dietetics professionals. However, there are others with creative, laid-back personalities who do not fit into a specific category of eating habits or career path! I am happy to report that there are many types of dietetic professionals working in the world of nutrition and they are all fabulous!

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures I have posted which were taken throughout my various rotation sites! They showcase the many “offices” I have been working in for the past few months. Just like all dietitians are not created equal, the settings where a dietitian may work are also unique!

Here are my top three observations from working with dietetics professionals!

Dietitians are leaders

Many RDNs are in a leadership role, either as a manager or as an authority and expert in nutrition. A dietitian in a food service management role has employees to lead and with this comes personnel matters. I have observed the RDN implement standards for employees’ performance as well as handle disciplinary action for employees. A dietitian in a clinical setting is the leading authority on medical nutrition therapy, and nurses and physicians will often seek their counsel for patient care.

Typical work days are not typical

So far in my internship, I have been in a clinical setting, a hospital food service setting, a community setting, and a school food service setting. The clinical setting does have a “typical” work day compared to the other settings. However, even a clinical dietitian is not going to see the same patients or same disease states every day. This is one of my favorite aspects of dietetics: every day is new and exciting! Each day when I walked into the hospital, I would not know what to expect. The “tasks” of a clinical dietitian are similar day to day, yet there is still a feeling of unpredictability when working with different patients.

In the community setting, the dietitian may have a “To Do List” that wraps around the block. Some days we would check a handful of items off the list, other days we would work on 2 items for hours until we were confident in the work we accomplished.

A typical day in food service may mean that the menu is cyclical or that the recipes are used repeatedly. There will be days where you get to test new recipes and try seasonal ingredients when creating holiday menus! Also, the population being served will keep things interesting with their culinary likes and dislikes.

Then there are days where unexpected events turn the entire facility upside down. During my food service management rotation at Cottage Hospital, a devastating natural disaster struck the community. A flood and mudslide destroyed the town of Montecito, less than 6 miles from Cottage. Dozens of injured persons who were swept out of their home by water in the middle of the night were rescued and brought to Cottage Hospital. 21 people lost their lives that night. The hospital staff was pushed to their limits, emotionally and physically. Many staff members worked overtime and then were unable to return home due to the flood shutting down the freeway. As a small token of gratitude, the Director of Food Services planned a day to order pizza for every staff member in the hospital. I worked with his executive assistant to organize the event, which included finding out how many employees were working that day, and how many departments were in the hospital, and organizing the delivery and distributions of pizza. We ended up feeding over 3,000 employees! During emergency situations, finding the time to eat something may not be a top priority. However, as a food service manager, feeding others is a way that we can contribute and keep up morale during a challenging time.

The non-typical days are where I observed some disparities in dietitian personalities. The “Type A” may prefer a steady pace with a predictable schedule. Another type of dietitian may thrive on the spontaneous nature of the day and roll with the punches and whatever is thrown their way! Both types may still be successful dietitians, if they are in an environment suitable to them. It may help you to think about your personality and use that to find your ideal working environment!

Did everyone graduate from college with a dietetics degree or do they just act like they did?

A fun perk that “comes with the territory” of being a dietitian is everyone wants to tell you what they know about nutrition. From family members, to clients, to strangers at the grocery store, most people you meet will have something to tell you about the knowledge they have regarding food and nutrition. They will tell you how they lost 20 lbs. in a month because they stopped eating bread. They will swear that the ketogenic diet changed their life. They might even tell you that they live on kale and grapefruit because every other food causes cancer (a patient said this to me with a straight face). The professionals I have worked with are compassionate listeners with little interest in offering a rebuttal. However, when it comes to educating a patient, or giving your recommendations to a physician in a clinical setting, the dietetics professionals must remember they are the experts. Be confident in what you know from science-based evidence and research.

In a community setting there are many opportunities to educate others who may be misinformed because of the vast amount of information that is out there. If you can show them the evidence from reputable sources, their health may be better off for it! The secretary at my community rotation facility asked my opinion of coconut oil. As a dietetic professional I want to offer facts, not opinions. I shared an article with her from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. We discussed the article together and we both learned something about coconut oil!

My internship has given me the chance to work with a variety of dietitians and to learn from their unique personalities and professional styles. I value the contributions they are all making to the field of dietetics and to improving the health of the populations they serve. Before my internship I was nervous that I would not fit into the dietetic world since I have more of a laid-back personality and sometimes I eat cake for breakfast. I can confidently tell all future RDNs that no matter what you eat for breakfast, there is a place for you as a professional in this field! I encourage you to be your authentic self and use your personal strengths to find where you are meant to be as a dietitian.