How to study Dietetics and become a good professional
As in any profession, having a good training is essential. To be a good dietetics professional, it is essential to be properly trained, to acquire the knowledge about food and human health that is necessary to practice this profession.
There are different types of training, with greater or lesser duration, and different levels of specialization or attendance. In this article we will explain the most relevant ones.
Dietetics courses. Non-regulated education
These are short courses, which may last only a few days or a few weeks. They usually last between 60 and 200 hours. There are generic courses that deal with nutrition and dietetics from a general point of view, and also specialized ones, such as courses on sports nutrition and dietetics.
In the more generalist ones, the courses usually include the following topics:
- Introduction to nutrition and dietetics
- Nutrition at different stages of life
- Importance of healthy eating, nutrition myths and misconceptions
- Nutritional counseling
- Professional training in Dietetics
- Vocational training in Spain has three levels:
- Basic vocational training cycles
- Intermediate vocational training cycles
- Higher level training cycles
In turn, we can find both classroom and distance degrees. For a person who is already working and wants to do a vocational training degree, the most convenient is to do the distance learning degree.
What is taught in the VET degrees?
If we take one of these degrees as an example, we can see that it has the following syllabus:
- Balanced nutrition
- Food control
- Physiopathology applied to dietetics
- Relationships in the work environment
- Training and labor orientation
The total duration of this higher degree would be 2000 hours, and although it is distance learning, the exams are face-to-face, to ensure that the student is the one who takes them.
During the degree, students can do internships in companies, which helps them to complete their training.
University training
In addition to non-formal education courses and vocational training, it is also possible to study dietetics at university. Compared to the previous ones, this is the most in-depth and detailed training, but also the longest, most difficult and most expensive.
The first two courses are usually the most difficult, as they include subjects such as the following:
- General chemistry
- Applied statistics
- Anthropology and psychology of nutrition
- General biochemistry
- Nutrition education
- Metabolism
- General biology
- Human anatomy
- Human physiology
There are several universities that offer undergraduate degrees in dietetics. Most of them are “Human Nutrition and Dietetics” degrees that last 4 years. In the last year there are usually internships in companies.
In addition to bachelor’s degrees, master’s and doctoral studies can also be taken at the university. The master’s degree lasts 1 or 2 years, and the doctorate usually takes 4 years.