How to Become a Registered Dietitian

So you want be an RD? 🙂

 

I get SO many questions from followers about how to become a Registered Dietitian. I actually have a whole series on my YouTube channel where I discuss the process in detail, how to apply for an internship, how I passed the RD exam, and my thoughts on the whole process in general. But I wanted to put together a guide here on my blog as a quick reference for anyone who is interested in pursuing becoming an RD. It’s a long, rigorous process (just being totally honest here), but it takes a lot of knowledge and training to become a ‘nutrition expert,’ and be able to relay complex scientific research to the public & and help them put the findings into practice. Oh, and in my opinion, it’s totally worth it! 🙂

Here are the steps:

• 1) Obtain an undergrad degree in nutrition. Many schools offer nutrition programs nowadays, you just need to make sure that the program is a DPD (Didactic Program in Dietetics), which I believe most are. You can search which schools offer DPD programs here. Upon completion of the program, you will receive your DPD verification, which means you have taken and passed all the required undergrad nutrition courses and therefore are eligible to apply for a dietetic internship. *If you have a degree in another science-related field and would like to instead pursue a career as an RD, you only need to complete the coursework to receive the verification statement from a DPD program, which you can then go on to apply for a DI.

 

• 2) Get matched to a Dietetic Internship (DI). You will (in most cases) start applying your final year of undergrad for an internship. I did an entire video on how to apply, including all of the steps, what you have to submit, tips for making your application stand out, and also experience you should be getting throughout all of your undergrad years, so I won’t elaborate on that here. It’s important to note that the internships are competitive – only about 50% of applicants get matched on their first try. It’s crucial to select where you apply to carefully, and make sure to apply to programs that would view YOU as a good fit in THEIR program. I elaborate more on this in this video as well! You can search all of the DIs across the US here.

 

• 3) Complete your dietetic internship. Most programs last about 9 months (mine was 11, lucky me!!) It’s basically a 9-5 job, and you will shadow and train at different facilities. Internships are broken into 3 categories, or rotations: community nutrition, food service, and clinical. The time spent training in each rotation will vary from internship to internship, but you can expect that clinical (aka in a hospital setting) will be the longest of the three. With each rotation you will be assigned a preceptor (all of this scheduling will be done for you by your internship director, unless in the case of a distance internship) who is basically your mentor and boss throughout that rotation. You will also be shadowing/working alongside mainly other RDs, but you could also be working with diet technicians, food service workers, doctors, nurses, program directors, etc. You will also have projects to complete in each rotation & facility, which will vary program to program. Lastly, you may be required to take some nutrition courses along with the internship, but this will vary between programs as well. Oh and…it’s unpaid. Lucky us.

 

• 4) Pass the RD exam. Now that the internship is out of the way, the hardest part is over! The very last step in securing that coveted RD credential is passing the RD exam. Again, I’ve done a whole video on how to study for the exam (including which study guide I recommend hands down) so I won’t elaborate too much here. But it’s basically a test covering your 5 years of study (4 years undergrad + 1 year DI – FUN!) The test is computerized, and has a minimum of 125 multiple choice questions but if you are borderline pass/fail when you reach 125, the test can go up to 145 questions. The exam was more difficult than I expected – I knew the content like the back of my hand, but it really prompts you to draw on your critical thinking skills as a future RD. Meaning, all of the answer choices could be right, but one is REALLY right. It’s certainly not impossible though (I passed on my first try) – just make sure you know your stuff, and keep the ‘big picture’ in mind when answering questions.

 

• You did it!! After ALL of your hard work – tough science exams, late nights, early mornings, group projects, preceptor shuffling, on-site training, long days that question why the hell you signed up for this unpaid process (that you’re paying for), and lastly lots and LOTS of studying, YOU DID IT! YOU’RE AN RD 🙂 Once you have passed the exam, the only thing you have to worry about moving forward is making sure to pay your dues each year & complete your Continuing Professional Education credits (CPEs), of which you need 75 every 5 years. AND you may need to be licensed, which is only required in some states (you will go by whichever state you will be employed in). However, this is typically just some extra paperwork and a fee, you do not need to take any additional tests for this.

 

• Do I need to go to grad school? At this point in time, a graduate degree is not required in order to become an RD. However, within the next few years (I believe by 2024) a master’s degree will be required in addition to the dietetic internship, in order to become an RD.

 

• What happens if I don’t get matched? First, you’re certainly not alone. As I stated above, only about 50% of applicants get matched each round. Immediately following match day, you can participate in the second round match which is usually a couple days later (the internship programs that didn’t fill all of their spots will participate). I had a few friends/fellow nutrition students that matched during the second round, so it’s a totally viable option! Other than that, the best thing to do is to re-apply the next year and get some relevant work experience in the mean time, so that your application is even stronger the next time around. Lastly, it is possible to look into starting a grad school program if you don’t get matched, and then go on to complete the internship later. My biggest piece of advice though would be to get the internship out of the way as soon as possible – it’s a tough year, and you can’t begin work as an RD (regardless of whether you have a graduate degree or not) until you complete the internship.

 

• A little about my journey: I completed my undergrad, a BS in Nutritional Sciences, at Penn State University. After graduating college, I started my dietetic internship at Immaculata University (my rotations were all in the Greater Philadelphia Area), and also received my Masters in Nutrition Education from Immaculata University as well. Majority of my graduate classes were night classes, which started during my dietetic internship, and I continued for another two years (after my DI) before completing my degree. As an RD, I’ve worked in clinical (specifically long-term care), one-on-one nutrition counseling, as well as running a social media campaign for a nutrition start-up. I now run my YouTube channel & this blog full-time.

 

I hope you guys find this helpful! If you have any questions, let me know!  And best of luck to all my future RD2Be’s out there, make me proud!!

 

xx Becca