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
Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.
Job prospects for 2022-2026
Job prospects
All of Québec
Very good
All of Québec
Non available
Total jobs for 2021
All of Québec
3,000
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 95.9% Female
- 4.1% Male
Not available.
- 95.9% Female
- 4.1% Male
Job types
All of Québec
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2015
All of Québec
$61,000
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
Not available.
-
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
Not available.
-
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
Most training programs are offered in French only.
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
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
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
