A "registered dietitian" meets the following requirements that are established by the American Dietetic Association:

1. Provides nutrition education or counseling based on evidence-based information.
2. Successfully earning a minimum of a bachelor's degree, completing a dietetic internship and passing the national dietetic registration examination.
3. Earn a minimum of fifteen hours of continuing education annually to assure a practitioner's knowledge is current.
4. Lists the abbreviated credentials R.D. (registered dietitian) after the practitioner's name.

The Roles of a Dietitian in the Clinical Setting:

1. Acts as a nutrition advocate for patient care.
2. Identifies patients at nutrition risk.
3. Performs nutrition assessment and documents nutrition care plan in patient chart.
4. Identifies, evaluates and coordinates patients receiving enteral and parenteral feedings.
5. Provides education to patients, family members and other health care professionals.
6. Assesses the nutritional adequacy of a patient's diet and provides nutritional supplements, if necessary.
7. Evaluates the appropriate therapeutic diet based on patients' nutritional needs and health status.

For more information about the profession of nutrition and dietetics, explore the American Dietetic Association Web site.