Putting it all together: The role of a dietitian working in Nutrition Care in Canada

Below is an example of how a dietitian might work in Nutrition Care.  Throughout the example, you will see the competencies that are being demonstrated. These competencies are identified by numbers and letters, for example: 1.08b. Click on these to reveal the competencies.

Meet Sheena, a dietitian working in Nutrition Care

Sheena is a dietitian who works in the oncology department of a large teaching hospital. She counsels individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer and have come to the hospital for radiation and/or chemotherapy treatment. The majority of her work is with outpatients, but if her patients are admitted to the hospital as inpatients, she will see them in hospital as well. This provides continuity of care for the patients.

Sheena’s primary role is to ensure that her patients are meeting their nutritional needs as best as possible despite the side effects of cancer treatment.

Sheena is part of a large interprofessional team that includes physicians, surgeons, clinical fellows, medical residents, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists, speech language pathologists, diet technicians and social workers, among others.

Sheena shares a small office with two other dietitians. Her office is on an inpatient floor, however, she spends most of her day on a different floor seeing patients in the outpatient clinic area.

Sheena starts her day by turning on her computer, as well as logging into the hospital’s electronic health record, which she has access to from her office computer. She looks through her secured email for any issues related to patient care (1.08b, 1.09d).  Sheena ensures that she logs out of the electronic health record prior to leaving her workstation (1.10d).

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