31121 Dietitians and nutritionists

What this occupation covers

Dietitians and nutritionists assess nutrition related issues of individuals and groups and develop, implement and evaluate nutrition care plans to prevent, treat and manage disease. They manage food and nutrition service systems, and plan health promotion programs. They are employed in a variety of settings including hospitals, home health-care agencies and extended care facilities, community health centres, the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, educational institutions, and government and sports organizations, or they may work as private consultants.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 11 main duties for this code.

• Develop, implement and evaluate nutrition programs and services for individuals, communities and populations
• Manage food service systems in hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, privately owned-food service outlets or similar settings
• Provide nutrition guidance, label interpretation and consultation services to health professionals, individuals, dietetic interns, community groups, government and the media
• Evaluate nutritional status of individuals and aid in the prevention and/or treatment of inadequate nutrition
• Plan, evaluate and conduct nutrition education programs and develop educational materials for various audiences
• Practice on an individual basis or as a member of an interdisciplinary team to determine nutritional needs of patients and to plan, implement and evaluate normal and therapeutic diets to maintain and enhance general health
• Analyze current scientific nutritional studies, conduct research and evaluate program effectiveness to improve the nutritional value, taste, appearance and preparation of food
• Work within industry in the development, testing and evaluation, and marketing of food and nutrition products or as a company representative supplying product related information to health professionals
• Confer with other health professionals, community groups, government and the media to provide consultation and advice in areas of nutrition interpretation, intervention and policy
• Supervise training of dietetic interns.
• Dietitians and nutritionists may specialize in areas such as administrative dietetics, clinical dietetics, community dietetics, public health nutrition or research dietetics.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 11 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 32129 Other medical technologists and technicians
• 30010 Managers in health care
• 62020 Food service supervisors
• 32209 Other practitioners of natural healing
• 41403 Social policy researchers, consultants and program officers

Excluded from this code

• Dietary technician (See 32129 Other medical technologists and technicians)
• Director of dietetics (See 30010 Managers in health care)
• Food service supervisors (See 62020 Food service supervisors)
• Holistic nutritionist (See 32209 Other practitioners of natural healing)
• Home economist (See 41403 Social policy researchers, consultants and program officers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

administrative dietitian · administrative nutritionist · clinical dietitian · clinical nutritionist · community dietitian · community nutritionist · consultant dietitian · consultant nutritionist · dietetic consultant · dietician · dietitian · dietitian-nutritionist · nutrition and dietetics researcher · nutrition consultant · nutrition researcher · nutrition specialist · nutritionist · professional dietitian (P.Dt.) · professional nutritionist · public health dietitian · public health nutritionist · registered dietitian (RD) · registered dietitian-nutritionist (RDN) · registered nutritionist

Employment requirements

• Dietitians require a bachelor's degree in dietetics, nutrition or a related field such as food and nutritional science from a program accredited by the Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice (PDEP), and a period of supervised practical training.
• Successful completion of the Canadian Dietetic Registration Exam (CDRE) is required in all provinces except Quebec.
• Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces for dietitians.
• Membership in the national association, Dietitians of Canada, is voluntary.
• Registration with a regulatory body is required for nutritionists in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta. In the remaining provinces, nutritionists may require the same education and practical training as dietitians.
• Membership with the national association, Dietitians of Canada, and/or a provincial regulatory body is available for nutritionists who have the same education and practical training as dietitians.