Profile:
DIETICIAN
Functions:
Dietistics graduates, hereinafter referred to as Dieticians, are healthcare professionals in the technical-medical area who, with professional autonomy, carry out activities aimed at the prevention, care and protection of individual and collective health by using planning by objectives methods in the assistance in the development, adult and geriatric age, in pursuance of the provisions of the regulations concerning the figure and the related professional profile defined by decree of the Ministry of Health. They use scientific principles and methodology in the study of nutrition and apply these results to their profession.
They are competent for all aspects of human nutrition in terms of health and well-being. Dieticians organize and coordinate specific activities related to nutrition in general and diets in particular; they cooperate with the bodies in charge of the protection of the nutrition service; they elaborate, formulate and implement the diets prescribed by physicians and control the patient's compliance; they collaborate with other professionals in the multidisciplinary treatment of eating disorders; they study and elaborate the composition of food rations satisfying the nutritional needs of population groups and plan the organization of community catering for healthy and sick people; they carry out educational activities.
Dieticians, in particular, must possess:
Generic skills
Organization, management and professional autonomy
They must:
Participate in the organization, management and development of dietary services;
Participate in the organization and choice of different ways of supplying hospital food and other nutritional supplements, and participate in drawing up the menu;
Understand the structure of clinical nutrition or hospital nutrition services, and know how to identify the dietician's tasks within multidisciplinary teams;
Maintain and upgrade their competence and professional skills, understanding the importance of life-long and independent training and long-term professional development.
Know how to draw up reports, summary papers, reports, and to compile clinical records related to professional activity;
Apply the procedures of quality assurance processes;
Practice the profession according to the principles of social justice and respect for individuals, customs, religions and cultures, taking into account the influence these may have on nutrition and lifestyle.
Professional relations and collaboration, communication and counselling
Dietitians must:
Establish and maintain effective relationships with patients;
Be able to appropriately use ITC related to their profession and to disseminate nutrition and lifestyle issues;
Counsel patients using the most appropriate and scientific-based methods;
Practice the profession being able to work in teams with other professionals, identifying the limits of their profession and the situations in which patients need to report to other professionals.
Research and practice based on scientific evidence.
Dietitians must:
Be able to evaluate scientific discoveries and have the ability to apply them in clinical practice;
Know how to apply and integrate the dietetic, social and educational sciences;
Be able to interpret, with a critical approach, the results of nutrition research and scientific evidence;
Know the main databases of scientific journals and know how to use the correct sources of international scientific information to make clinical decisions based on scientific evidence.
Specific skills
Biosciences and preliminary knowledge
Dietitians must:
Understand the mechanisms underlying processes that determine the nutritional status of humans;
Know the main processes involved in nutrition and in the use of nutrients;
Understand the structural and biological characteristics of macro- and micro-nutrients;
Understand the main elements of genetics with particular reference to nutrition;
Understand the structure and function of the human body with respect to the different phases of life and to the main acute and chronic pathological conditions;
Understand general statistics and its possible applications in health sciences;
Understand the foundations of psychology and bio-psycho-social interactions that impact on human behaviour and nutritional status;
Understand the anthropological and sociological evolution of diet, nutrition in health and disease contexts.
Public Health Promotion and Health Promotion
Dietitians must:
Understand the basic characteristics of the national healthcare system;
Understand the basics of public health and collective nutrition;
Know how to plan and participate in prevention campaigns in clinical nutrition;
Promote healthy life styles through educational interventions aimed at the population;
Promote and maintain appropriate hygiene and food safety practices, and know risk control and limitation systems;
Be able to evaluate exposure to chemicals through diet; Understand microbiological and parasitological aspects ;
Participate in the organization and management of canteen and catering services for different communities;
Be able to evaluate, monitor and manage food chains and traceability factors;
Understand aspects related to the economy and management of the food industry;
Collaborate in planning policies for the promotion of food education;
Dieticians must:
know how to identify and classify foods;
Understand the functions and bioavailability of nutrients, nutritional needs, know the recommended rations, the energy balance mechanisms;
Be able to integrate and synthesize critically the knowledge derived from several disciplines useful in professional practice, with particular reference to the food-individual-environment interaction;
Be able to explain to the patient the impact of the diet on health and well-being;
Understand the basic processes of food preparation as well as on the processing and preservation of animal and plant derivate products;
Be able to prepare, interpret and use food composition tables and diet databases;
Implement dietary processes, including screenings, anthropometric measurements of population, identify the needs of particular groups, formulating goals, planning, implementing interventions, and evaluating objectives achieved.
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management of Individuals Dietists should:
Understand and know how to meet the patient's needs even in complex conditions related to the state of disease, to environmental exposure, in individuals, groups, organizations and populations and according to gender;
Get to the correct diagnosis on the basis of the analysis and interpretation of collected clinical data and of anthropometric and nutritional assessments in health and illness situations at all stages of life;
Translate recent research results into dietary recommendations;
Provide patients with information about the diet they are taking, and contribute within the team to establish nutrition administration routes: natural, parenteral and enteral, and to choose the more appropriate nutritional formulas or preparations for artificial nutrition;
Anticipate, discuss and manage possible complications;
Check the effectiveness of the applied diagnostic and therapeutic tools;
Be able to identify and evaluate qualitative and quantitative deviations of the nutritional balance due to excess or deficiency;
Understand the pathophysiology of nutrition-related diseases;
Identify dietary and nutrition problems of patients, as well as risk factors and inappropriate practices;
Understand and use the adequate terminology of the field of health sciences;
Understand nutraceuticals and know the interactions between drugs and nutrients.
Practical activity
Dieticians should:
1) Have acquired the ability to use computer systems for:
- data collection and storage,
- graphic creation and word processing,
- processing of dietary protocols and menus,
- collection and selection of bibliographic material,
- management of information flows on service activity,
2 )Be able to recognize the qualitative and organoleptic traits of raw foods and their transformation resulting from conservation and cooking;
3) Be able to visualize the weight and volume of food;
4) Know the functioning of a model structure in the hospitality industry (hospital and school catering)
5) Write evaluation reports on catering facilities;
6) Know the operation of a cooking centre for hospital complexes, following all stages of preparation of special diet and diets;
7) Know how to use and apply food flavour tables;
8) Be able to compile lists of nutrients equivalents;
9) Know how to calculate nutritional needs for age groups;
10) Be able to identify food rations for age groups;
11) Know how to make interviews about dietary habits;
12) Be able to write a report containing the processing and evaluation of the collected data;
13) Be able to propose information events for population groups;
14) Be able to participate in a nutritional epidemiological survey
15) be capable of participating in the development of a health education plan at all stages: design, preparation, analysis, methodology, definition of objectives ,programming, implementation, evaluation of results;
16) Know how to perform plicometrics, bioimpedience and muscle strength tests;
17) know how to gather patients’ nutrition history including overall and single nutrient energy supply;
18) know how to calculate and formulate dietary patterns for patients with pathologies;
19) Be able to carry out diet explanatory interviews with the patient;
20) know how to follow cases of anorexia and bulimia in several stages of treatment in a multidisciplinary team
21) Be able to follow, within a multidisciplinary team, patients undergoing bariatric surgery;
22) know how to set nutritional treatment differentiating by pathology including the phases of: description and evaluation of the case, definition of objectives, choice of operating methods, verification criteria;
23) know how to interpret biochemical analyzes of the nutritional status,
24) know the restorative procedures of:
- customized meals booking
- breakfast/meals distribution
- dinner-cart assembly
- temperature sensing at the heart of the food product, with respect to sealed mono-portions packaging, through dedicated digital thermometer.
Skills
From the information gathered during the stakeholder talks, it emerged that graduates in Dietistics may carry out their professional activity in public or private healthcare facilities and services as employed or freelancer. They can carry out their professional task of dietary and nutritional consultancy within public or private healthcare institutions, in the field of catering and catering services. The professional contribution of the Graduate in Dietistics is also required at companies operating in the agri-food chain. Recently, Dieticians are also required in companies dealing, at various levels, with thermal and aesthetic medicine. In summary, Dietitians can find employment in:
- the public health sector (hospitals and healthcare agencies)
- private health care (nursing homes and polyclinics, private practice)
- private practice in associate medical clinics
- collective catering companies
- food companies
They may also continue their studies in 2nd cycle degree courses or 1st level University Master Courses.
Graduates in Dietistics, who are in charge of assignments provided by the DM. Of the Ministry of Health 1994, No. 744 et seq. Modifications and additions, carry out their professional activity in public or private healthcare facilities, in the territory and in home care, as employees or private practitioners; they contribute to the training of support staff and directly contribute to the updating of their professional profile and to research.