Although the term Nutritionist is commonly used, the title Registered Dietitian is a legally protected title in Illinois, which can only be used by Healthcare Professionals who have completed a recognized program of study, as well as a dietetic internship.
A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a recognized nutrition expert perfectly blending good nutritional practices with healthy lifestyle and overall well being. The RD credential will be a major requirement in the field of health care in the near future as it is already necessary for getting employed in this field as well as a number of other jobs centered around nutrition and foods. This justifies protecting the RD licensure, the hard-earned credential with extensive educational training, guided or supervised internship and passing the nationally administered registration examination.
Here is a detailed description of two different routes than can be taken to becoming a Registered Dietitian in Illinois:
Method 1
The first way is to register yourself for an accredited Coordinated Program that is a combination of classroom teaching and supervised practice. It can be a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program that is also offered at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The official website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides a complete list of all Coordinated Programs.
Method 2
Academic Qualifications: The first step to becoming a registered dietitian is to gain appropriate educational qualifications by taking up the Didactic Program in Dietetics, that is Bachelor’s degree with a number of different course sets needed for meeting the same standards. You may need to review the your existing courses to meet the requirements perfectly.
Supervised Internship: After completing the educational elements, you must apply for and complete at least 900 hours of a supervised dietetic internship which is at the post-bachelor’s degree level. The competitive practice heavily depends on your experience, grades and participation in extracurricular activities. Usually, lasting for 10 months to a year, the internships are available throughout the country.
Registration Examination for Dietetics: Completing any of the aforesaid methods makes you eligible for undertaking the RD Exam which is required for registration with the CDR as well as applying for the licensure with the State of Illinois. The exam reflects upon all the different spheres of dietetics, mainly clinical, management, food service and community. It is a computerized multiple-choice board exam taking about 3 hours to complete. You must answer a minimum of 125 questions for the exam to be scored and gain a score of at least 25 to pass. You are a Registered Dietitian once you pass the exam and are free to denote yourself as an expert in food and nutrition by using the initials “RD” after your name.