JUST DIETITIAN THINGS

Shamelessly snarky blog about working in the nutrition/healthcare field, inspired by Nursing is the Shit. Send me your dietetic experiences and/or requests!

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Done

I give up. New things are happening. Y’all need to look up dietitianhumor on Instagram, Facebook, and various assorted interwebs. Peace out, homies.

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GLASBERGEN KNOWS WHAT’S UP

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WHEN A PATIENT (NOT EVEN REMOTELY AN ATHLETE) TRIES TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY DRINK SO MANY SPORTS/VITAMINS DRINKS

And sugar. It also has sugar. So much sugar.

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HAVING TO BE CORDIAL TO A DIFFICULT/ANNOYING PATIENT AFTER YOU’VE HAD A ROUGH DAY/NIGHT

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DECIPHERING A DOCTOR’S HANDWRITING

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RESEARCH THAT WATER BEFORE MEALS COULD HELP WEIGHT LOSS

Said every dietitian, ever. A while ago. 

“Researchers have shown that drinking 500ml of water at half an hour before eating main meals may help obese adults to lose weight. They believe that the simple intervention could be hugely beneficial, and be easily promoted by healthcare professionals and through public health campaigns.”

(Also, healthy eating and exercise. Obvs.)

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Or your dietitian. Bruh

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WHEN YOU HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH (I.E., GET ALONG WITH) THAT ONE MD/RN/RD/ETC YOU DON’T LIKE TO HELP A PATIENT

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how is it like being a dietitian? is it hard-education wise? :) thank you!

Howdy! Thanks for the question. I wouldn’t say it’s too hard RE: education.....it’s heavy on science (health, anatomy, chemistry) but not Pre-med heavy. You will have to constantly be studying and educating yourself on new science, guidelines, etc.

Currently, in the States at least, you have to 1) Get a bachelor’s degree in nutrition/dietetics, 2) Complete an internship (6-12 months, plus you may be able to get graduate credits with it), 3) Sit for and pass the national RD exam. THEN once you do all that, you have to maintain your RD status by completing a certain amount of credits (called Continuing Education Credits/Units) within a cycle. This page will give you even more details (it’s not as scary as it looks, promise). 

A lot of an RD’s job consists of education and convincing. In some ways it can parallel a nurse’s job (Nurses have it way harder I think, don’t get me wrong). Sometimes a patient/client may understand what they need to do in their own situation, but may not want to do follow through for various reasons. This is probably the hardest part for me (WHY WON’T YOU LISTEN AND DO WHAT I SAY I AM A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL), but you have to remember that you’re doing all you can and that each patient has to take personal responsibility. Sometimes, depending on the setting you work in, you may not be taken very seriously (but that’s up to you to change that). Also, you may have to walk the line between drill sergeant and psychologist/counselor/social worker. But that’s just how it is in the health care field. All in all, it feels great to help people, especially as a team. 

I’m pretty sure I over-answered your question...sorry about that. <3 

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RE: THIS “OMG KALE IS TOXIC AND WILL KILL YOU” NONSENSE

Vox has a great article about this. Educate yo’self and read it.

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THAT ONE OVERDRAMATIC CO-WORKER

Oh, get over yourself.

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Experiences you’ll only understand if you wear glasses.

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This. Forever and ever amen.

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Ahhhh. Thank you for following me! You're so awesome! :D I'm thinking about going to Grad school to be an RD, and I when I stumbled across your blog, I thought it was the coolest thing. Keep it up! :D

Hey grrlfriend. Thanks for the kind words. Keep on thinking about it - I think we definitely need RDs for the whole workout crowd. Things get confusing over there. 

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WHEN A PATIENT HAS SNOOTY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DON’T TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY

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LEARNING HOW TO WRITE PES STATEMENTS AS AN INTERN

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I Just Can't...DIETITIAN VS. NUTRITIONIST

Sorry. I've just gotta get up on my soapbox for one quick minute . Because I cant, I just can't . I can't take it anymore (k, slightly dramatic...but you get the idea). I've seen so many people...

​YES LAWD. Y’ALL READ THIS. 

I don’t mind being called a “nutritionist” though (seems less intimidating for some than “dietitian”). To be honest, I think some of these types can help, with GENERAL NUTRITION ONLY. What bothers me the most is the fact that RDs have put in a lot more time, effort, and money (and gray hairs) to become full fledged professionals able to help people, while these types of “nutritionists” have only offered a fraction of all of that.

It also rustles my jimmies that these “nutritionists” charging money to help people (if they won’t/can’t see an RD) who would be better off just researching the info (from trusted sources!) on their own. 

Also, if you have only a few weeks/months or even a couple of years training and don’t have credentials (or training) fully recognized by a national organization, you have no business tampering with a person’s health if they have a debilitating or advanced condition or disease. Would you let a biology/chem/premed major give you a physical and counsel you for some serious condition? No, you would want a doctor of some sort, or at least an intern. 

And I will not be swayed in my opinion, for this is Tumblr.

[video-hall-of-fame]

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WHEN JCAHO COMES TO VISIT AND YOU INEVITABLY DO SOMETHING DUMB AND KEEP TRYING TO FIX IT BUT YOU CAN’T