What exactly do dietitians do? Are they really a part of the medical team?
- Dietitians provide nutrition services/Medical Nutrition Therapy to patients who are referred by their physician. They work with the medical team to assess the patient's nutritional needs and develop a care plan.
- Patients with a variety of conditions and illnesses can improve their health and quality of life by receiving medical nutrition therapy.
- During an MNT intervention, RDs counsel clients on behavioral and lifestyle changes required to impact long-term eating habits and health.
- Medical Nutrition Therapy includes:
- Performing a comprehensive nutrition assessment including weight, height, BMI (Body Mass Index) status, review of labs, and determining the nutrition diagnosis.
- Planning and implementing a nutrition intervention using evidence-based nutrition practice guidelines may include diet counseling, suggestions for improvement, and/or specialized treatments.
- Monitoring and evaluating an individual’s progress over subsequent visits with the RD.
RDs provide MNT and other nutrition services for a variety of diseases and conditions including:
- Cardiovascular Diseases: hypertension, dyslipidemia, congestive heart failure
- Diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, Gestational
- Disease Prevention: general wellness
- GI Disorders: celiac disease, cirrhosis, Crohn’s disease
- Oncology/Cancer including bone marrow transplant patients;HIV/AIDS
- Food allergy
- Nutritional Support: oral, enteral, parenteral
- Pediatrics: infant/child feeding for growth and development, failure-to-thrive, inborn errors of metabolism, etc.
- Pulmonary Disease: COPD, cystic fibrosis
- Renal Disease: insufficiency, chronic failure, transplantation
- Weight Management: overweight/obesity, bariatric surgery, eating disorders
- Women’s Health: pregnancy, lactation, osteoporosis, anemia