The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Nutritional Sciences Master of Arts Dietetic Education Program Handbook 2023-2025 College of Allied Health

55 - Expectations for Practice policy

Updated: 8/2/2023

The following policy is created based on the ACEND Standards, AND Code of Ethics, AND RDN Scope of Practice, and the CPMA mission and vision. 

As per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts with a degree from an accredited dietetics program and who completed a supervised practice requirement, passed a national exam and continue professional development throughout their careers. There also are specialty credentials in areas of gerontological nutrition (CSG), sports dietetics (CSSD), pediatric nutrition (CSP), renal nutrition (CSR), and oncology nutrition (CSO). Board-certified specialists are credentialed by the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In addition to RDN credentialing, many states have regulatory laws for dietitians and nutrition practitioners.

RDNs work in a variety of settings:

  • Hospitals, HMOs or other health care facilities, educating patients about nutrition and administering medical nutrition therapy as part of the health care team. RDs may also manage the foodservice operations in these settings, as well as in schools, day-care centers and correctional facilities, overseeing everything from food purchasing and preparation to managing staff.
  • Private practice, working under contract with health care or food companies, or in their own business. RDNs may provide services to foodservice or restaurant managers, food vendors and distributors, or athletes, nursing home residents or company employees.
  • Community and public health settings teaching, monitoring and advising the public, and helping to improve their quality of life through healthy eating habits.
  • Sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, educating clients about the connection between food, fitness and health.
  • Food and nutrition-related businesses and industries, working in communications, consumer affairs, public relations, marketing or product development.
  • Universities and medical centers, teaching physicians, nurses, dietetics students and others the sophisticated science of foods and nutrition.
  • Research areas in food and pharmaceutical companies, universities and hospitals, directing or conducting experiments to answer critical nutrition questions and find alternative foods or nutrition recommendations for the public.”1

The mission of the Coordinated Program for Master of Arts in Dietetics (CPMA) is to provide the best possible didactic and supervised practice to produce qualified entry-level dietitians with enhanced skills in clinical dietetics. The Department of Nutritional Sciences is committed to educating students to function as dietetics professionals in the variety of settings, including those described by the Academy. 

Additionally, the Academy and the profession of dietetics is dedicated to service to the public. Core value codified in the dietetics Code of Ethics include that nutrition and dietetics practitioners shall “collaborate with others to reduce health disparities and protect human rights,” “promote fairness and objectivity with fair and equitable treatment,” “assess the validity and applicability of scientific evidence without personal bias,” and “respect patient/client’s autonomy” as they “participate in and contribute to decisions that affect the well-being of patients/clients.”2

Based on these professional values, the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) has set forth standards for completion of an accredited dietetic program. The program curriculum must support “cultural humility, self-reflection, and diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and “learning activities must address and build competency in diversity, equity and inclusion. The program must ensure that students have the skills to recognize biases in self and others and embrace the diversity of the human experience.”3 Additionally, in order to successfully complete a dietetics program, a student must demonstrate the ability to:

  • Demonstrate counseling and education methods to facilitate behavior change and enhance wellness for diverse individuals and groups. (KRDN 3.3)
  • Develop nutritionally sound meals, menus and meal plans that promote health and disease management and meet client’s/patient’s needs. (KRDN 3.6)
  • Demonstrate cultural humility, awareness of personal biases and an understanding of cultural differences as they contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion. (KRDN 2.6)
  • Describe contributing factors to health inequity in nutrition and dietetics including structural bias, social inequities, health disparities and discrimination. (KRDN 2.7)3

Based on these two goals (preparation for a wide variety of professional roles and inclusive and equitable service to a diverse public), students in the CPMA throughout their time in the program are expected to:

  • Assess, educate, counsel, and provide other nutrition care for a diverse patient/client population, including variety in race, ethnicity, culture, age, nationality, education, literacy and numeracy, socioeconomic status, physical ability or disability, religion, health and food beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, and background.
  • Create nutrition interventions that honor the beliefs and preferences of diverse patients and clients related to health and food, including when those beliefs and preferences are not held by the student.
  • Plan, prepare, cook, and serve a wide variety of foods according to the food beliefs and preferences of a diverse public, including grains, dairy and dairy substitutes, fruits, vegetables, proteins (including eggs, meats and meat substitutes), sugars and other sweets, fats and oils, foods considered to be both “healthy” and “unhealthy,” and foods from a wide variety of cultures. No student will ever be required to eat, taste, or consume any food, but must be prepared to work with and recommend that food to others.
  • Practice in a wide variety of environments, including inpatient and outpatient care, foodservice operations and kitchens (including those that do not conform to religious or personal beliefs), private practice, community and public health settings, sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, food and nutrition-related businesses and industries, universities and medical centers, and research.
  • Base all care on scientific evidence, objectivity, fairness, and inclusion, setting aside personal biases and preferences.

Students who cannot adhere to his policy will not be enrolled in NS 7615 Clinical Nutrition Practicum, NS 7625 Food and Nutrition Service Management Practicum, or NS 7635 Community Nutrition Practicum. Students who do not complete these rotations cannot graduate from the CPMA, nor can they earn a verification statement. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a Professional Concerns Report, and that procedure will be enforced. 

References: 

  1. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: About RDNs and NDTRs. https://www.eatright.org/about-rdns-and-ndtrs. 
  2. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Code of Ethics for the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession. https://www.eatrightpro.org/practice/code-of-ethics/code-of-ethics-for-the-nutrition-and-dietetics-profession 
  3. Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. ACEND Accreditation Standards for Nutrition and Dietetics Coordinated Programs (CP), 2022.

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