American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 13, 254-257, Copyright © 1963 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

The Nutrition Consultant in Private Practice

¹ Nutrition Consultant, Cherry Creek Medical Building, Denver, Colorado

The opportunities for the establishment of dietary services all over the country are almost unlimited. With the admitted shortage of dietitians available for positions in hospitals or other institutions, how can the demand for this service in a new field be fulfilled without jeopardizing the needs in the fields which already exist? One answer may lie in utilizing the growing numbers of dietitian homemakers who have retired from active professional work to rear families or to care for ill or elderly relatives. The "shared dietitian" who has worked out a program in which consultation services are available to a group of small hospitals within convenient travel areas may point the way to a similar plan for therapeutic dietitians. The latter, centrally located so that any doctor could refer a patient for dietary help, might service several areas. Even if the dietitian were only available one day a week at first, it might become possible to expand the service. Office space might be found in a library, where it could be rented on a limited basis, or in the office of a doctor on his day off.

The basic premise still holds—there is a great need for further dissemination of sound nutritional knowledge. By adapting dietary instruction to individual needs in terms of family food habits, the family as well as the patient often benefits. Indeed, such practices might lead to an improvement in nutritional status within the community. The possibilities are unbounded. Implementation is needed to bring these into being. Dietetics as a profession is comparatively young and new challenges for greater service are constantly being found. The nutrition consultant (the dietitian) is in a unique position to offer individualized nutritional help to the person who might be denied it otherwise.