Dietitian
Erin Seiter, dietitian > Miami Valley Hospital
By KEN MOSIER
For What2Be
You might think that the old jokes about hospital food wouldn’t apply anymore with dietitians such as Erin Seiter coming to work for hospitals. Instead of the more heavily-science based curriculum that most dietitians follow, Seiter graduated with an associate degree in culinary arts and a bachelor’s degree in culinary nutrition from the Rhode Island campus of Johnson & Wales University.
“I was planning to open up my own restaurant eventually but I saw the hours and the weekends and decided that that was not really what I wanted to do,” she said. “We had to take nutrition classes within our degree and I loved it, so I decided to switch majors and focus on culinary nutrition.”
After graduation, dietitians must serve an internship of six to 12 months - depending on the location. They are then eligible to take the registration exam for the American Dietetic Association to become a Registered Dietitian. Seiter finished her internship at Miami Valley Hospital in July and was hired to work as a dietitian. She will sit for the exam in October.
Normally, dietitians in hospitals neither cook nor serve the food to patients. Their job is to work with doctors and nurses to assess special dietary needs of patients. “(At Miami Valley) we are on a five-day reassess so we see patients on their fifth day of admission unless we get a doctor-consult or a nurse-referral or just our own discretion that we think the patient needs to be seen (before that),” Seiter said. “So we kind of go through the charts and see who we need to see that day.”
“We do a nutritional assessment (on that day’s patients) and see what their needs are. We visit with the patient to see if there is anything that we can add to their tray or any supplements that they need. Then we take care of (patients on) feeding tubes and have those recommendations in the charts for the doctors.”
“With what time is left, we try to get all the education done for the day,” she continued.
Education is a key part of a dietitian’s job.
People on special diets need to have instruction in food preparation, etc.
“A lot of people don’t know how to cook or, if they are on a bland or special diet, they say it is tasteless,” Seiter said. “It doesn’t have to be that way. There are lots of ways to incorporate flavor without including fat.”
Hospitals are not the only work venues for dietitians.
“Dietetics is a huge field. In wellness centers, they do a lot of outpatient education so they have dietitians who work for them. A lot of colleges have one on staff for their food service. Various spas, private counseling, even a lot of grocery stores are hiring them now just to have one on staff,” she said.
In a grocery store or chain, the dietitian might make up a menu of healthy recipes for customers based on that week’s ads.
“It is really interesting to see all the places that dietitians can work,” Seiter said.
Seiter eventually wants to teach healthy cooking and nutrition classes at cooking stores. She also plans to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition after becoming registered.
Cytotechs work in laboratories - for the most part on the day shift - and are among the higher-paid of medical technologists according to Clark. There is a continuing shortage of those professionals so job opportunities are plentiful.
