Dieticians/Nutritionists
Job description
These individuals are experts in food and nutrition. They assess a person’s nutritional status and implement an intervention to adapt their diet according to their needs. They plan, implement, and supervise nutrition programs for populations. They are self-employed, work as consultants in the private sector, or for private companies:
- Hospitals
- Home health care agencies
- Long-term care facilities
- Community health centres
- Food industries
- Pharmaceutical industries
- Universities and research chairs
- Governmental sport and non-profit organizations
- School boards
- Medical associations
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
Dieticians/Nutritionists in Clinical Nutrition
- Assess the nutritional status of individuals (nutritional problems, swallowing).
- Determine the optimal feeding path.
- Determine the nutritional treatment plan, its implementation, and its follow-up.
- Aim to maintain, restore, or improve the nutritional and health status of individuals.
- Participate in health care in an interdisciplinary team setting.
- Adapt intervention strategies according to the needs and capacities of individuals.
- Perform certain medical activities such as prescribing substances and permanently removing a feeding tube (reserved activities).
Public Health Dieticians/Nutritionists
- Maintain and improve the health status of the population as a whole.
- Aim to reduce health inequalities between different demographic groups.
- Monitor and evaluate the nutritional health of the population and its determinants.
- Promote healthy eating and the protection of dietary health.
- Prevent nutrition-related diseases.
- Intervene in the physical, political, economic, and socio-cultural environments.
Dieticians/Nutritionists in Food Service Management
- Integrate nutrition into core management functions.
- Offer a diet adapted to the needs of the patients.
- Adapt the food offered to the missions, values, and regulations of the organizations.
- Aim to promote, maintain, and restore health.
- Create an environment and food supply that promotes health.
Dieticians/Nutritionists in Food and Biopharmaceuticals
- Optimize the supply of food and nutritional products that promote better health.
- Collaborate with various professionals.
- Provide nutrition expertise that takes into account the needs of the population.
- Establish a privileged link between the industry and the consumer.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to management positions.
- These people can specialize in various fields:
- Clinical nutrition
- Public health nutrition
- Management of food services
- Nutrition in food and biopharmaceuticals
- Research and teaching
- Communication
- These individuals may specialize in a variety of medical practices:
- Geriatrics
- Pediatrics
- Oncology
- Nephrology
- Cardiology
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2020 to 2022.- Minimum
- $27.50
- Median
- $40.00
- Maximum
- $48.03
Job prospects for 2022-2026
sr.comparaison-region.titre
Job prospects for 2022-2026
Job prospects
All of Québec
All of Québec
Total jobs for 2021
All of Québec
All of Québec
Gender distribution
All of Québec
- 95.9% Female
- 4.1% Male
- 95.9% Female
- 4.1% Male
Job types
All of Québec
- Full time
- Part time
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2015
All of Québec
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62380% of jobs
-
NAICS 913% of jobs
-
NAICS 613% of jobs
-
NAICS 713% of jobs
-
NAICS 813% of jobs
-
Others8% of jobs
All of Québec
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62380% of jobs
-
NAICS 913% of jobs
-
NAICS 613% of jobs
-
NAICS 713% of jobs
-
NAICS 813% of jobs
-
Others8% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
University
Dietetics and nutrition
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 69.5%
27.6% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 81%
19% of graduates pursue further studies
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec (OPDQ [Quebec Order of Professional Dieticians]) to hold the titles of dieticians and nutritionist.
- Licence to practice.
Sometimes required
- A Class 5 driver’s licence and vehicle may be required for home responders.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active listening
- Reading comprehension
- Science
- Result evaluation
- Oral expression
- Critical thought
- Mathematics
- Coordination
- Teaching
- Written expression
- Social perception
- Learning strategies
- Service oriented
- Solving complex problems
- Information processing
- Active learning
- Persuasion
- System analysis
- Negotiation
- Operation analysis
- Human resource management
- Time management
- Systems evaluation
Abilities
- Written comprehension
- Oral comprehension
- Written expression
- Verbal skills
- Deductive reasoning
- Awareness of issues
- Speech clarity
- Information organization
- Classification
- Originality
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech recognition
- Near vision
- Idea generation
- Selective attention
- Basic numeracy
Knowledge and attributes
- Autonomy
- Capacity to influence and mobilize
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Commitment
- Versatility
- Sense of initiative
- Vitality
- Creativity
- Pedagogical knowledge
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Watch, defend, and secure
- Work with numbers
- Create, design
- Carry out research
- Self-employment
- Assist and advise
- Collect, verify, sort, and classify data or information
- Conduct tests and trials, control processes
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Official name of the NOC 3132
Dietitians and nutritionists
Job titles
- Dietitian-nutritionist
- Dietitian
- Nutritionist
- Public health dietitian
- Research dietitian
- Clinical dietitian
- Private practice dietitian
Skill type
Health
Last update: April 28, 2023