What roles do dietitians play in hospitals and other settings beyond school food?

Dietitians play an important role in school cafeterias, as well as in hospitals, industry, social services, and more, especially in hospitals, where they are responsible for clinical nutrition and food service nutrition.

 

When most people think of a dietitian, they think of someone who is in charge of school lunches. In fact, when I tell them that my major is food and nutrition, most people ask me if I want to be a dietitian, and regardless of my answer, they start complaining about school lunches. It’s tasteless, the portions are too small, etc. But dietitians work in more places than people realize, and one of them is hospitals. In order to become a registered dietitian, it’s mandatory to do a field practicum, which is usually done in a university hospital. In this blog post, I’m going to talk about dietitians working in hospitals.
The profession of dietitian is becoming increasingly important in modern society. This is because it”s directly related to our health. In particular, dietitians working in hospitals play an important role in the treatment and recovery of patients. Various diseases and health conditions require specialized nutritional care, which requires specialized knowledge and experience. Through this practicum, I gained a deeper understanding of the role of a dietitian in a hospital, which has greatly influenced my future career choices.
The work of dietitians in hospitals is divided into clinical nutrition care and catering nutrition care. Clinical nutrition care is aimed at disease management and is done in accordance with a doctor’s prescription. The scope of work includes nutrition management for inpatients and nutrition counseling and education for inpatients and outpatients. For hospitalized patients, it is very important to maintain proper nutritional status for quick healing, so dietitians visit patients in person to provide nutritional counseling and education according to the doctor’s prescription. As nutritional status often deteriorates during prolonged hospitalization, detailed nutritional status and risk factors are determined, and nutritional management is conducted according to disease, age, etc. to maintain proper status.
Education methods for resource patients can include classroom methods. For example, classes such as diabetes classes, gastrectomy classes, and classes after cancer treatment are organized within the hospital. Patients and their caregivers gather at a pre-announced location and time for a lecture-like education. These classes are usually taught by doctors, nurses, and dietitians, in that order. For example, in the “Education for Gastrectomy Patients” program, doctors provide education on understanding gastric cancer, nurses provide education on postoperative care, and finally, dietitians provide education on nutrition after gastric cancer surgery. To be effective, the education is often done in a participatory way, with everyone speaking aloud and repeating important points. These patient education programs go a long way in helping patients and families understand and manage their disease, and they help patients manage their long-term health.
After discharge from the hospital, nutrition counseling includes long-term education and treatment to help patients recover. Furthermore, outpatient counseling is conducted to examine the patient’s dietary habits and medical history to identify dietary problems and reasons. Based on this, an individualized nutrition treatment plan is created. This may include behavior modification therapy, exercise therapy, and dietary therapy to improve dietary intake. In addition to this, information such as recipes and mealtime recommendations are provided. This counseling and education is essential for patients to maintain healthy eating habits on their own at home.
Dietary nutrition management is responsible for overseeing patient meals and is responsible for inspecting, testing, preparing, and presenting patient meals. Hospital meals are provided according to the diagnosis and prescription of a doctor, and are usually based on the hospital dietary guidelines or meal planning guidelines. The types of meals served in hospital cafeterias include regular meals, therapeutic meals, enteral nutrition, clinical trials, and outpatient meals. Therapeutic meals include low sodium, cirrhotic, high protein, post gastric/esophageal resection, diabetic, dysphagia, low protein, and iodine restricted, and are more individualized than regular meals. Before a meal is served to a patient, a physician’s order is entered, a nurse’s prescription is entered, a work slip is printed and prepared, the meal is checked and inspected, the meal is completed, and finally the meal is served to the patient.
Hospital dietitians also plan meals that take into account the patient’s preferences and cultural background. This is an important factor to ensure that patients are as satisfied as possible during their hospital stay. Since patients come from many different cultures, it’s important to understand and respect their cultural eating habits. This will help patients achieve better treatment outcomes.
As you can see, dietitians also have important jobs outside of schools. In addition to hospitals, they also work in industries, social services, and infant and child care centers, where they are responsible for the nutritional needs of the people they serve. For example, dietitians who work in industry are responsible for providing nutritional counseling and healthy meals for employees. In social services, they run nutrition programs for the elderly and low-income individuals, and in childcare centers, they provide nutritional care to help children grow and develop. I want people to realize that dietitians work in many different settings. It’s important to recognize that the profession plays an integral role in helping us live healthy, active lives.