Firms that provide food services for hospital patients on a contract basis employ a small but growing number of dietitians and nutritionists. State and local health departments, schools, and colleges, provide over 20 percent of dietitian jobs. Other jobs are found in a variety of settings, including prison systems, hotel and restaurant chains, and career firms that provide food service for their employees. Many dietitians work as consultants, either full time or part time. In addition to serving on the staff of a hospital, for example, a dietitian may be a consultant for another health care facility.
Nursing homes use consultants to provide much of their dietetic supervision.
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement A bachelor's degree with a major in foods and nutrition or institution management is the basic educational requirement for this field. This degree can be earned in about 270 colleges and universities, usually in departments of home economics and food and nutrition sciences. Required college courses include food and nutrition, institution management, chemistry, bacteriology, and physiology. Other important courses are mathematics, statistics, computer science, psychology, sociology, and economics. It is also possible to prepare for this profession by receiving an advanced degree in nutrition, food service management, or related sciences and providing evidence of qualifying work experience.