Nutritionist Career Path

I have chosen to pursue a career in the healthcare field as a Nutritionist. There are a variety of tasks and roles that I will assume by choosing this career path. I will be responsible for coordinating meal plans for establishments like schools, hospitals and businesses. I will also council individual patients; creating meal plans for those patients who have specific ailments. Nutritionists are experts in using food to replenish the body and treat diseases. Nutritionist plays an active role in the community regarding the nutritional values of the local people in the area; questioning the nutritional integrity of those eateries and restaurant establishments. A practicing Nutritionist in Louisiana must have an LDN license or a provisional license. The provisional license is temporary and must be extended every year. The provisional license cannot be extended beyond 5 years. A nutritionist operating with a provisional license cannot open his or her own practice and must work under the direct supervision of an LDN. To acquire either an LDN license or provisional license one must have a bachelor degree in the areas of health sciences from an accredited university and 900 hours of supervised internship. To acquire the LDN license one must pass the dietician nutritionist licensure exam issued by the Louisiana Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition. (Nutrition Ed. Org State Requirements for Nutrition and Dietician Fields, (2015). According to the O*Net interest profiler located on the website “My Next Move” I have a very high social trait. This will help me as I will have patients from all walks of life. My social skills will come in to play early and often as I will have to deal with not only patients from all walks of life, but conversing with my own staff as well. My Next Move also describes my interest as leaning towards the artistic side of things. This is not a trait that lines up well with my chosen field. I don’t that artistic ability will be much use in my career choice of Nutrition, unless I’m drawing up diagrams for my patients or staff. The areas of interest I scored lowest in were the conventional, investigative, and relative areas of interest. I will have to improve in areas such as problem solving, organizational skills and time management. There are areas that are vital to my success as a Nutritionist. (mynextmove.org (2016). My goal as a Nutritionist is to become a leader and top advocate of health in Louisiana. I not only want to work in hospitals, gyms, and various other businesses; I would like to start my own practice as well. I am going …show more content…
I plan on having a job in my field and preparing myself to open up a private practice. I want to use my education and skills to improve my community through a non-profit organization. In addition to eating healthy, I want to make sure the families in my community are getting the proper of exercise. I will use my non-profit organization to put pressure on our elected officials to not only promote parks and libraries, but to regulate the fast food industry in regards to their right to serve unhealthy concoctions to the public. I will be at the forefront of not only making Louisiana healthy, but spreading the message of good health all over the country. The next step is going back to school and acquiring my Masters. I plan to never stop learning and to eventually become a specialist in my