How to Become a Dietitian

If you’re passionate about nutrition, health and supporting people to maintain their wellbeing as they age, a career in dietetics can offer a rewarding pathway. Dietitians work across many areas of healthcare, but aged care dietetics provides a unique opportunity to support older Australians with their changing nutritional needs across residential aged care, community and home-based settings. So, how do you become a dietitian in Australia, and what does a career supporting older adults look like?

What does a dietitian do?

Dietitians are university-qualified health professionals who use evidence-based nutrition and dietetic care to support health and wellbeing. Their work can include individual dietary counselling, medical nutrition therapy, group dietary therapy and food service management. A dietitian can work across hospitals, private practice, community health, food services and aged care.

Within aged care, dietitians support the nutritional health and quality of life of older people. This can include working with people living in residential aged care as well as older Australians who continue to live independently in their own homes. Dietitians Australia identifies residential and community aged care as settings where Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) can provide nutrition services.

How to become a dietitian in Australia

There are several important stages on the pathway to becoming a dietitian.

1. Complete an accredited dietetics degree

The first step in how to become a dietitian is completing the appropriate university education.To become an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) through Dietitians Australia, you need an Australian dietetics degree accredited by Dietitians Australia, unless you qualify through another recognised pathway such as Dietetic Skills Recognition. Dietitians Australia notes that many general nutrition courses are not accredited dietetics programs, so it’s important to check the accreditation status before choosing a course.

Depending on your previous study, accredited programs are available at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The current list of programs should always be checked directly with Dietitians Australia, as accreditation status can change.

2. Complete practical placements

Practical experience is an important part of dietetics education, giving students opportunities to apply what they have learned in real healthcare and community environments. Accredited programs are designed around Dietitians Australia's National Competency Standards and include practical learning. The exact placement structure varies by university.

If you're particularly interested in aged care dietetics, look for opportunities to gain exposure to older adults, community care, residential aged care or food service environments throughout your studies and early career. These experiences can give you a better understanding of how nutrition care changes throughout ageing and how dietitians contribute within multidisciplinary care teams.

3. Become an Accredited Practising Dietitian

After completing an accredited Australian dietetics degree, graduates can apply to join Dietitians Australia's Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) Program. The APD Program is Australia's national credentialing program for dietitians. The APD credential demonstrates recognised professional qualifications and a commitment to maintaining professional knowledge and skills. Dietitians Australia states that APDs undertake continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain their knowledge and practice.

For anyone considering a long-term career in dietetics, continuing education is particularly valuable as your interests develop and you begin to specialise in areas such as aged care.

4. Develop your knowledge of aged care nutrition

Once qualified, you can start building experience and professional development specifically around nutrition for older people. Aged care dietetics covers both residential and community-based care. Dietitians Australia highlights nutritional risk in both environments and identifies an APD's role in supporting older people who live independently at home as part of aged care practice.

Dietitians interested in this area can build their knowledge of:

• Nutrition requirements as people age
• Identifying and managing nutritional risk
• Residential aged care
• Community and home-based care
• Menu and mealtime assessment
• Working within multidisciplinary teams
• The broader Australian aged care system

Dietitians Australia also offers aged care-specific professional development covering these areas.

What does an aged care dietitian do?

One of the reasons aged care can be such a rewarding area of dietetics is the variety of work available. In residential aged care, dietitians can contribute to nutrition care while working as part of a wider multidisciplinary team. Dietitians Australia also identifies menu and mealtime assessment as an area of aged care dietetic practice. In the community, an APD may provide nutrition services to older people who are continuing to live independently at home. This means a career in aged care dietetics can provide exposure to different people, care environments and nutritional needs, making it a varied pathway for both new and experienced dietitians.

Why consider a career in aged care dietetics?

Aged care dietetics is about much more than food. Nutrition forms an important part of supporting the health and wellbeing of older people. For dietitians, the sector can also provide opportunities to work across residential aged care and community settings, collaborating with other healthcare professionals while developing valuable clinical and aged care experience. If you're someone who values building relationships, individualised care and supporting older people to maintain their wellbeing, aged care can be an incredibly meaningful direction for your dietetics career.

What skills are useful for an aged care dietitian?

Alongside your clinical dietetics knowledge, there are several skills that can help when working with older adults:

• Communication: Being able to communicate nutrition recommendations clearly with older people and the people involved in their care.
• Person-centred thinking: Understanding the individual behind the nutrition plan and considering their circumstances and preferences.
• Collaboration: Working effectively as part of a multidisciplinary care team.
• Adaptability: Being comfortable working with different people and across different care environments.
• Relationship building: Developing positive relationships with clients, families, care teams and providers.

These are areas aspiring dietitians can begin developing through university placements and continue strengthening throughout their careers.

Start your career in aged care dietetics

Understanding how to become a dietitian is the first step towards a career that can take you into many different areas of healthcare.

For those passionate about supporting older Australians, aged care dietetics offers the opportunity to use your nutrition expertise across residential and community environments while helping people maintain their health, wellbeing and quality of life.

At Vivir Healthcare, dietitians have opportunities to deliver allied health services supporting older adults across a range of care settings. Ready to take the next step in your dietetics career? Explore dietitian opportunities with Vivir Healthcare and discover where a career in aged care could take you.