Nutrition and Dietetics
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What is a Dietitian? Registered dietitians(RD) are the only qualified health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems at an individual and wider public health level. Dietitians work with both healthy and sick people in the community and hospital settings. We are the ONLY nutritional professionals to be regulated by law and are governed by an ethical code to ensure that they always work to the highest standard. |
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Areas you might cover: Dietitians can work in the NHS, private practice and industry as well as education research and many other areas influencing individual choice and advising on policy across the spectrum. In NHS practice dietitians work in a variety of settings such as general and community hospitals, GP surgeries, nursing and residential homes as well as visiting patients their own home. |
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Who you might work with? Dietitians are an integrated part of many teams working with Nurses, doctors, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, healthcare assistants, volunteers as well as patients and their relatives or carers. |
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Entry requirements and training To work as a dietitian in the NHS you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This requires a BSc (Hons) degree (3-4 years) To get onto an undergraduate degree, you need: Three A levels, usually including chemistry, maths or biology, along with five GCSEs (grades A-C), including English language and maths or BTEC, HND or HNC which includes science subjects |
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Pay, working hours and conditions Starting salary for a Dietitian in the NHS is £24,214 per annum (band 5) Hours of work generally 37.5 hours/week. Mostly Mon-Fri but some weekend or evening work may be involved Excellent NHS terms and conditions |
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What career opportunities do we offer locally? In this region we have clinical dietitians working in both hospital and community roles at band 5, 6 and 7 pay grades. Specialist areas of work include: Bariatrics There are also management opportunities at grades 8a and above. Further information on NHS pay and conditions can be found at: https://www.nhsemployers.org/pay-pensions-and-reward/agenda-for-change/pay-scales/annual |
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Further information If you are interested in becoming a dietitian, you can find more information at: https://www.bda.uk.com |