02/07/03

New Resources For Food and Nutrition Professionals:

American Dietetic Association Publishes Dietetics Profession’s First Compensation and Benefits Survey and Model Job Descriptions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2003

Media contacts: Bridget McManamon, Lori Ferme

CHICAGO — The American Dietetic Association has published two new resources to provide dietetics professionals with objective, reliable information on pay and benefit levels as well as detailed job descriptions for use in their careers and organizations.

Using data from the first comprehensive survey of compensation and benefits in the dietetics profession, involving more than 13,000 respondents, ADA has produced the 2002 Dietetics Compensation & Benefits Survey and Job Descriptions: Models for the Dietetics Profession.

"These are the first-ever resources for dietetics professionals regarding salary, benefits and job descriptions," said American Dietetic Association CEO Ronald S. Moen. "These reference works are now the authoritative source of data on salaries, benefits and work settings for all dietetics professionals."

The 2002 Dietetics Compensation & Benefits Survey details hourly wages and total compensation for registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, with the data sorted by such areas as geography, years in the field, years in position, education, credentials held, employer status and responsibilities.

According to data provided by respondents, the median annual income for registered dietitians in the United States who have been working in the field for at least a year is $45,000. For dietetic technicians, registered, it is $31,000 per year.

The survey also found that 54 percent of registered dietitians work in clinical nutrition settings -- acute care/inpatient, ambulatory care or long-term care -- along with 62 percent of dietetic technicians, registered. The typical dietetics practitioner has been in his or her current position for five years, with about one-third of all respondents saying they have been in their jobs for fewer than three years, and about a third reporting they have been in the same job for 10 years or more.

Job Descriptions: Models for the Dietetics Profession, contains detailed job descriptions for dietetics positions in areas including clinical, community, consultation, education and food and nutrition management. To prepare for the survey, job descriptions were collected from ADA members and nonmembers and were used as a basis for the model descriptions in this book.

"We identified approximately 40 different jobs that account for more than 80 percent of all dietetics employment," Moen said.

"The information in these manuals should prove to be an asset to professionals and their employers in all major dietetics practice settings, as well as providing reference material for self-employed dietetics professionals," Moen said.

To order a copy of 2002 Dietetics Compensation & Benefits Survey or Job Descriptions: Models for the Dietetic Profession, visit www.eatright.org and click on the Market Place tab at the top of the screen. The cost for the compensation survey is $50 for ADA members and $250 for non-members. The cost of the job descriptions is $50 for ADA members and $100 for non-members.

With nearly 70,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Chicago-based ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. Visit ADA at www.eatright.org/.

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