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OaSIS 2025 Version 1.0
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31121.00 – Dietitians and nutritionists

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.

Overview

Example job titles

  • Administrative dietitian
  • Clinical dietitian
  • Community nutritionist
  • Consultant dietitian
  • Dietitian
  • Dietitian-nutritionist
  • Nutrition specialist
  • Nutritionist
  • Public health dietitian
  • Public health nutritionist
  • Registered dietitian (RD)
  • Research dietitian

Core competencies

  • Learning and Teaching Strategies, and Instructing to plan and conduct tailored training programs in dietetics, nutrition and institutional management for various audiences
  • Persuading to encourage food service managers and organizations to improve sanitation, safety procedures, menu development and planning nutrition programs
  • Problem Identification and Deductive Reasoning to determine dietary deficiencies in patients and plan daily and therapeutic menus to improve health
  • Verbal Ability and Speech Clarity to provide nutrition counselling and consulting to health professionals, community groups, sports teams, government, the media and individuals
  • Attention to Detail to calculate the nutritional value of foods and food costs with precision
  • Knowledge in Physical Health to conduct research to improve the nutritional value, taste and preparation of food or treat inadequate nutrition

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • 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.

Additional information

  • Dietitions and nutritionists are protected titles and used interchangeably in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta. In these provinces, nutritionists require the same level of education and training as dietitians.
  • In some provinces, dietitians who work as Public Health Nutritionists and dietetic education program coordinators may require a Master’s degree.
  • Dietitians and nutritionists may progress to management positions through additional experience.
  • Dietitians and nutritionists may specialize in areas such as administrative dietetics, clinical dietetics, community dietetics, public health nutrition or research dietetics.

Similar occupations classified elsewhere

Exclusions:

NOC hierarchy breakdown

NOC version

NOC 2021 Version 1.0

Broad occupational category

3 – Health occupations

TEER

1 – Occupations usually require a university degree

Major group

31 – Professional occupations in health

Sub-major group

311 – Health treating and consultation services professionals

Minor group

3112 – Pharmacists and dietitians

Unit group

31121 – Dietitians and nutritionists

Occupational profile

31121.00 – Dietitians and nutritionists

O*NET in-it

This page includes information from the O*NET 27.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Employment and Social Development Canada has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.