19 Key Attributes Dietitians And Nutritionists Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Olivia Williams

Monday, September 7, 2015

Dietitians and nutritionists plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. They may also supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.

The core tasks that dietitians and nutritionists are likely to carry out include:

Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans and diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
Monitor food service operations to ensure conformance to nutritional, safety, sanitation and quality standards.
Organize, develop, analyze, test, and prepare special meals such as low-fat, low-cholesterol and chemical-free meals.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that dietitians and nutritionists would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for investigative work environments. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 95.29%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 92.8%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 92.8%

Having a strong preference for social work environments. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 90.43%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 89.6%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.2%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.4%

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 84.8%

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 84.8%

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 83.2%

Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.2%

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.4%

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 82.4%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.6%

Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 80.8%

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%