DIETICIAN AS A PROFESSION

Stages of education

Currently, studies preparing for the profession of a dietician are made up of two levels: undergraduate and graduate program, based on the education standards recommended by the General Council of Higher Education.
In accordance with the education standards for the undergraduate program and the objectives of the Bologna Process, after obtaining a bachelor's degree, the graduate is prepared to continue his or her studies at the graduate level in dietetics or related fields.

Classification of the profession

According to the regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of April 27, 2010 on the classification of occupations and specialties for the needs of the labor market and the scope of its application (based on Art. 36(8) of the Act of April 20, 2004 on employment promotion and labor market institutions, Journal of Laws of 2008 No. 69, item 415, as amended) a dietitian is a specialist in health care. This occupation is entered under the number 228401.

Scope of professional competencies

A draft bill and proposed regulation of the Minister of Health on determining the scope of professional competencies of people working in health care (draft bill of January 29, 2004), regulate the scope of these activities. According to § 2 Section 1 of the draft, practicing the profession of a dietician consists in:

1. planning, monitoring and implementing science-based individual and mass nutrition for all groups of people;

2. using clinical nutrition based on natural diets and medicinal products for special nutritional purposes in the treatment of malnutrition diseases arising from poor diet and other diseases;

3. planning and preparation of meals for specific diets, in accordance with the current principles of nutrition;

4. independent planning of menus based on the applicable diet classification;

5. supervising and monitoring all stages of technological processes in the meal production, including the HACCP system;

6. controlling the quality of food raw materials and products and their storage conditions;

7. training employees of food production facilities in terms of the organization of workstations and compliance with the principles of good hygiene and production practices;

8. participation in the implementation of nutritional therapy at the request of and under the supervision of a physician;

9. recognition, prevention and treatment of malnutrition, including hospital malnutrition;

10. evaluation of the nutritional status, diet and nutrient requirements of patients;

11. keeping records on patients' diets;

12. providing dietary counselling;

13. conducting nutritional education.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, practicing the profession of a dietician by a person with higher education (as per § 2 Section 2 above), consists in:

1. conducting independent nutrition counseling for various groups of people, both healthy and sick;

2. teaching in the field of human nutrition and dietetics and conducting trainings and internships as part of qualification improvement process;

3. planning and conducting research in the field of nutrition for healthy and sick people;

4. planning and conducting health care and health promotion programs.

Legal regulations of the occupation

Check the compilation of legal regulations for the occupation of a dietician.