Dietitian Life

Dietitian  

[dahy-i-tish-uhn]  

noun

1. a person who is in expert in nutrition or dietetics. 

I also saw today, since it's National Registered Dietitian Day, the following explanation by Kristi King:

"We are not just label readers.  We are not the food police.  We don't just make meal plans.  What are we?  We are educators.  We are counselors and communicators.  We are the cheerleaders for you to live your best life.  We help kids grow and sometimes we keep you live when critically ill.  We are in hospitals and private practice, food service and industry.  We are instructors and professors."

We, as Registered Dietitians, are the expert!  I love when people recognize this. 

I don't much enjoy when people confuse me with a nutritionist, because, to me, anyone can be a nutritionist be it your mom, your grandma, or your little kid nephew.  Anyone who has a passion for nutrition (which is a good thing, mind you) can be called a nutritionist.  However, not everyone is a Dietitian.  That Registered Dietitian or RD title goes to the one who earned it with schooling, degrees, internships, and passing the national exam (or as some may say, boards). 

Now that that's out of the way, I will say I love being a Dietitian!  I changed my degree sophomore year of college and never looked back.  It is definitely one of the best choices I've made in life.

A patient literally came in this week asking me if I like being a Dietitian and if I would talk about my profession because they were interested in pursuing a career in health.  I gave the over-arching "yes" answer and then dove into specifics.  All of it.  They took notes :)

I provided background into why I even became an RD.  I explained all the things the Dietitian can do and all the places one can work.  The sky is the limit!  I rattled on about my experiences in pretty much every aspect that dietetics has to offer except higher education, though I'm qualified (and I've thought about it, ha!).  I stated the reality of the route to become an RD -- all. that. science. (Bio, O-chem, Anatomy, Physiology), the medical vocabulary, food management, food lab, etc.  I gave job perks like not being too stressed, being able to help people, and loving what I do.  I also said the not so pretty side of things...

[To be honest, I wrote a lot of this next part in November '16 while I was angry.]

Like any profession or really any thing in life, there is greatness that I can't get enough of and there are annoyances that I am totally over.  

I love those all-star patients, who 1) actually listen to what you say and 2) do it.  I love those all-star people who exclaim that diet/nutrition is actually really important.  Typically, they are the living, breathing example of a life turned around by right eating. 

Can't. Get. Enough.

It's these people and these moments that help being a dietitian be that much greater and the bad days become that much less deflating.

I realize I'm in a profession that people have ample opportunity to get their hands on information.  There is no telling how many websites and books there are on nutrition or the next latest and greatest fad diet.  Yet, it just seems so baffling that because one may have a smidge of information that is correct and that they might actually implement that gives them the air of knowing all and thus dismissing truth, help, or a new idea.

It's like saying to the plumber "Oh no, I got this.  I know what's wrong.  I fixed my drain from a hair clog once, so whatever you just said, can't be right."  AND "Even if it is, I can fix it myself with a YouTube video, despite the fact that I've never seen the pipes in my house."  Yeah, you do that. Personally, I would trust the plumber because he's a plumber, and I am not a plumber. 

People say this all the time, whether explicitly or inadvertently.  And that's sometimes just the beginning. 

Me:  Do you (the patient) do anything special in your diet?" 

Patient:  no.  

Me:  Okay, I'm going to talk to you about the cardiac diet, which is a low fat and low salt diet...

Patient:  Oh no, I don't use the saltshaker!

They just tuned out.  And I'm over there like "That's great.  Just at dinner?  Because you're in the hospital, so ya ain't perfect.  Let's dig a little deeper, shall we?"

As a Dietitian, you're the nutrition expert.  You're the one who went to school for a number of years, took all those hard science classes, maybe even has a masters… or two, has done an internship to acquire the hours and experience necessary to take and pass the national exam.  To become registered.  To get the credentials.  To then turn around and tell people who, in fact, need your expertise and help but who dismiss you because they don't use the saltshaker.  I love my job. 

Don't even get me started about doctor's "God complex"!

As a Dietitian, I am personally not the "food police."  One friend had the fortune of knowing myself and another Dietitian and said along the lines of "Does this mean I'm going to have to eat healthy [around you] or that you guys are going to tell me what to eat?"  Haha!  Heck, no.  That is called a client.  

Besides, this Dietitian likes to eat!  I tell people I have cravings, I gave in, I like desserts, food tastes good, etc.  So, I'm just like you in that regard.  However, I have an arsenal of knowledge on how to eat in a healthy way.  Think proper portion sizes, self-control, moderation, balance, actual healthy, nutrient dense food choices.

I give advice to whomever, if they ask.  I may have the occasional telling facial expression or slip up, though sometimes I don't care and I say what I know, but I try and refrain.  It is my profession but I'm going to try to not push anything on someone, and I know that some people don't want advice or to be helped.  You learn to read those people quick. 

Man, if I had a dollar for every time someone told me "I am doing this (fill in fad diet here) diet" or "It's expensive to eat healthy" or "Well, there's just so much conflicting stuff out there about nutrition" then I would be pretty rich!  

First, let's stop spreading those falsehoods!  The majority of Dietitians sing the same song, staked in good research.  It's the media who does not.  Heaven knows you can't have cake for breakfast every day and be "healthy" or lose desired weight.  My grandfather always did want me to concoct a diet in which chocolate shakes were a staple to enable him to be skinny.  Wouldn't that be rich.  Second, you're the know-it-all so you should know already what's true and what you should be doing, and there shouldn't be any confusion, right?  No?!  Maybe you do need that person who's gone to school just to look at all the research and bodily processes who is able to bring it down to your level of understanding.

Praise God for those who do realize this!  Just the other day a guy said he had lost a lot of weight and people started to ask him what he did.  But you know what?  He decided that he should go to school first to become a Dietitian to get the credentials to tell people what to do and to actually know what the heck to do. 

Then there are the lovely people who are recipients of those Dietitian's brains.  One lady told me she is a Celiac and a Dietitian worked with her when she was 95 pounds with no muscle.  She's now 105 pounds, weightlifting, and feels the best she ever has.  She also looks awesome. She is also at least in her 50s and has had several kids.  You can tell the expertise and that woman's hard work have paid off. 

So, hats off to Dietitians everywhere! I'm grateful to know a lot of them :)

And hats off to those who rightfully take advantage of our services and who have made the necessary changes to lead better, stronger lives!

Even after a year and a half, sometimes those same negative thoughts run through my mind, but, in the end, like I told my patient this week, no matter where I've gone, I've always met at least one patient who stands out and whom I will never forget because of the progress they made or because of the conversation we were able to have.  

I've shared my nutrition knowledge with a lot of people as well as my faith in God, which is the ultimate.  

I know I was there at that time with that individual for a reason.  That.  That makes it all worth it.