Nutritionist Qualifications

Video Transcript

"There are different ways that you can become a nutritionist. And you need to check into what state you live in and know that you are going to live there for awhile if you choose to take the route of a nutritionist in that state. Because every state is different and you do need to become a licensed nutritionist. Like I said every state has different licensing qualifications, so for instance in the state of Florida, you must be a registered dietitian to become a licensed nutritionist. And I am a registered dietitian and I highly recommend becoming a registered dietitian to then become a nutritionist and the reason is that it opens up your entire scope of who you can work with and where, whether it be hospitals or even many doctor's office require being a registered dietitian to be a nutritionist in their field. So becoming a registered dietitian is actually like a very conventional system of education, so you learn what's conventionally done, what's done in medical situations that could be, could pose risks or dangers. So you kind of learn what not to do and what kinds of risks are out there and how to interface with medical doctors and how to interface with speech pathologists, and other people of the other people involved in the multi disciplinary care team. Other ways to become a nutritionist are to go to other programs that exist throughout the country. Many of them are not credentialed so you need to be aware of that. However some states will allow you to get a masters degree at an accredited college or university and then from that point to be able to become a licensed nutritionist in that state. The key here is check in to what the license rules are in your state before you go through a lengthy process or a lengthy school and you find out that you can't become a licensed nutritionist. Becoming licensed is key otherwise you can literally, I believe be arrested and be fined and you absolutely don't want to do that. The personal and technical skills that are best to have as a nutritionist are number one, liking and loving people and knowing how to listen to people when they talk really listen to them because you're kind of like a counselor. It's also important that you do know how to use a computer and interface with your clients via email, via phone and via website."