Dietitian: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire a dietitian?

Hiring a dietitian for your organization can help in maintaining and improving the health goals of people. They’re vital to ensuring the wholesome development of patients by taking care of their dietary requirements.

Choosing the right dietitian is essential to helping your patients get well and achieve good nutrition and health. A quality dietitian can:

• Deliver dietary services per federal and state laws and regulations and company guidelines
• Create nutrition plans and dietary charts based on the current health of a patient
• Perform regular client health assessments and adapt monthly, quarterly and yearly nutrition plans as required

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance dietitian

Dietitians work in both full-time and freelance positions. A business might consider hiring a freelance dietitian because it could be facing a temporary increase in dietitian work and not have enough staff on hand. A facility may hire a freelancer to take on the extra jobs to keep work under control. Small facilities that don’t have many clients may also hire freelancers because there isn’t enough work to justify a full-time employee. 

Most health care facilities, such as hospitals and long-term care homes, have at least one full-time dietitian on staff to field questions from patients and clients about nutrition and health. 

What are the types of dietitians?

Like most jobs in the health care industry, dietitians may specialize in one area. Some of these specialties include:

• Gerontological nutrition (CSG): Dietitians who specialize in gerontological nutrition help older and elderly clients develop and follow a diet customized for their aging bodies. 
• Sports dietetics (CSSD): Sports dietitians give professional athletes advice on daily nutrition. They consider recent studies regarding sports nutrition recommendations, track the athlete’s progress and outcome and counsel coaches. 
• Pediatric nutrition (CSP): Pediatric dietitians work with children to create a diet that gives them all the nutrition needed for a healthy, growing body. 
• Renal nutrition (CSR): Dietitians who specialize in renal nutrition develop dietary plans that are low in sodium, phosphorus and potassium. These diets are recommended for individuals suffering from kidney disease. 
• Oncology nutrition (CSO): Oncology dietitians help cancer patients follow a diet designed to keep them healthy during their treatment. It can also help with side effects associated with radiation.

Where to find dietitians

To find the right dietitian for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Post help wanted signs. Hanging flyers can let the community know about the position and encourage people to send in applications. 
• Search online. Both freelance and full-time dietitians may be advertising themselves online. Reach out to these individuals to determine if they’re interested in the job and set up an interview. 
• Network. Building and maintaining relationships with both colleges and health care facilities in the area can generate leads regarding potential candidates for open dietitian positions. Connect with potential candidates to set up an interview and see if they’re a good fit.
• Post your job online. Try posting your dietitian job on Indeed to find and attract quality dietitian candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Dietitian

It is essential to review the skills and qualifications of all possible candidates to identify the most suitable candidate for Dietitian.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics, Nutrition, or similar fields
• Should be a Registered Dietitian
• Proven experience as a Dietitian for 2+ years
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Familiar with data entry and analysis
• Great scheduling and problem solving skill

Writing a dietitian job description

It’s vital to create a detailed job description with a list of duties, responsibilities and required skill sets to find suitable dietitian candidates.

When writing your dietitian job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting . These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on dietitian jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Dietitian
• Registered dietitian
• Nutrition
• Remote dietitian
• Nutritionist
• Dietitian remote
• Clinical dietitian
• Wellness
• Dietitian
• Dietitian home based

Interviewing dietitian candidates

In the interview process for a suitable dietitian, comparing the skills and qualifications of all potential candidates is essential.

• Proficiency in creating diet and nutrition plans for patients
• Knowledge and experience of possible health issues and concerns of patients
• How they’ve excelled at improving patient health and enhancing a patient’s nutrition situation by creating a personalized diet plan

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of dietitian interview questions for examples (with sample answers).