My Journey Begins: Becoming an RD

• Posted on February 7, 2013
• in Natalie's Updates
• by Natalie

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^ Not vegan

Hello again! It has been a crazy couple of months. My apologies for the lack of articles! I have made the decision to go ahead and get the schooling I need to become a Registered Dietician, just so you will believe everything I tell you! ;) . I want to be the most qualified nutrition expert that I can be, and getting the RD license will make me a genuine professional!

So here’s how it works: Since I was a design major and have absolutely NO credits in the sciences from my Undergraduate degree, I have to take 37 credits (oh crap) of prerequisites in total to apply to graduate school. To become an RD, you need a Bachelor’s degree at the bare minimum. But since I already have a Bachelors degree and certainly do not want to go back to school for another one, I will be applying to Master’s programs. The tricky part is that I can’t just apply to any old Master’s program in Nutrition. The program I need to become registered must be accredited by ACEND. I could easily go to a program which would give me the ACEND accredited credits (say that ten times fast) to become licensed (which would not necessarily give me a degree), but I figured getting a Master’s degree in Nutrition on top of it would be spiffy. Once I get into an ACEND accredited Master’s program in Nutrition, I have to finish the course work (usually 1.5 to 2 years for most programs), THEN I have to complete 1 full year of internship at 3 different locations (clinical, commercial, and educational- which I think is great since you can get a well balanced perspective of the field), THEN once I do all of THAT, I can finally take the licensing exam. If I pass it, then I will be a Registered Dietician!

So you see, it is not exactly the easiest path. However, I think it will be the most rewarding since I will be able to open my own practice to coach all you fine people to health! So this site right here will be a way for you to contact me for legitimate consultations in the near future! In addition, I would love to get some kind of background in fitness so I can add that to my expertise as well. But maybe I’ll save that for when I have more time!

As of now, I am currently enrolled in a small, local college where I am taking 18 credits (yikes) in Anatomy & Physiology 1, Psychology, Statistics, Biology, and a general Nutrition & Dietetics course. Before classes started last month, I had to prepare for grad school applications and prepare/take the GRE, AND I got a puppy (see photo above)! Realistically, I will most likely be attending a Grad program in the Spring or Fall of 2014 so I can finish all the classes. But, the only University which would make it possible for me to attend this Fall (2013) would be my Alma Mater, Syracuse University. SU told me if I finish all the prerequisites (all 37 credits) before this Fall, then I could be accepted to attend. So, if SU accepts my application for this Fall (I will find out in April), then I will need to take the other prerequisite (19!) credits all in the Summer (Anatomy & Physiology 2, Chemistry 1, Chemistry 2, Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Food Science/Food Prep, Food Services Systems, and Human Resource/Management/Organizational Behavior). If not, then I could spread the credits out between Summer and Fall and get some kind of internship to put on my resume.

Just yesterday in my Anatomy & Physiology class, a girl exclaimed “I will never eat ribs again!” as we palpitated the chest of a spry 86-year-old man’s cadaver. I answered, “that is why I am vegan!” (well not exactly). The three girls in my group gave me a confused and somewhat appalled look as one said, “how can you go into nutrition if you don’t eat meat?” I found this to be amusing and yet another motivation to continue on this path.

It may be against me that my resume is a bit skimpy in work in the health field. But if SU can see my passion for spreading the health (like “spreading the wealth”?) Then maybe I have a chance to start grad classes this Fall! I’ll let you know as soon as I get the letter! Whatever happens, I will become an RD!

To your health!

Tags: ACEND, degree, Master's, nutrition, RD, Registered Dietician, SU, Syracuse University, vegan