As a dietary technician, you will first have to assess the patient’s needs. In the case of patients who need special foods, you will need to be knowledgeable about their illness and how best you can meet their needs through the proper nutrition. The process involves interviewing the patient and reviewing their medical histories. Most physicians refer patients to a dietary technician when there are specific needs, and although this will be part of the medical history you will need to get information from the patient as well. You will have to go over what the patient eats at present and explain why changes are necessary in his/her diet. Then you help the patient plan meals that fit with what constitutes a healthy diet for the patient’s age and height.
If you are a dietary technician in food service management, your duties will be slightly different. In this capacity, you will have control of the process of planning meals, ordering and stocking the appropriate food supplies and overseeing the production of the meals. You will have to ensure that quality control and safety procedures are followed at all times. In a large institution, your responsibility may be to develop new meals for the patients or residents that are more cost effective, yet healthy. In addition, you will have to counsel the patients on nutrition and how proper nutrition can help improve their lives.
To become a dietary technician you need a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. Your coursework will consist of courses in Science, such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Biochemisty and Physiology as well as courses in nutrition and food management. The requirements to work in this position vary from state to state. Some of them require that you pass a state certification exam and be certified by the state and some require that you have a state license to practice in this field. As part of your degree program, you should complete an internship in which you work with a certified or licensed dietician. This will give you some experience and training on the job in which you can apply the theory you learn in school to practical applications.
When you have a job as a dietary technician, you will not be required to work overtime or weekends. This gives you a normal forty-hour workweek with standard federal holidays and vacation time. AS you gain more experience and meet the requirements, you can advance in your career to become a registered dietician, a consultant dietician or work as a community dietician where you take on the responsibility of educating a community on the need for proper nutrition.
