Abstract Section

Abstract

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Abstract

Introduction: With complexities among each individual’s health status and in today’s standards of demanding quality performance among public health professionals, it draws the importance to question upon what makes a nutritionist most competent to enter into the future workforce. The question of this literature review is to examine what articles are saying that should be required among entry-level nutritionists to be adequately prepared to enter the workforce.

Methods: Studies were collected through using a research database known as American Journal of Public Health. Inclusion criteria included the author having a professionally qualified nutritionist background, and whether the author mentioned any mental, intellectual, spiritual, physical, and/or social health required among entry-level nutritionists.

Results: Most studies explain nutritionists need the ability to communicate dietary counseling, be empathetic, be able to provide nutritional care plans, while doing so in a way of which the public can understand the information. Other considerably important studies explain students and nutritionists need opportunities to specialize in their aspects of education, and the need for extension courses in order to keep up with the new volume of scientific information related to their fields and to the public health.

Discussion: Students, nutritionists, and researchers can be interested in this particular topic because it helps one know what other professionals have been observing in the past 70 years of what is considered to be most vital for entry-level nutritionists. In order to change people’s behavior in the community, the most common suggestion among the ten articles is the need for better communication efforts from nutritionists.

Conclusion: One can do further research on what education is being currently implemented to improve students’ nutrition communication skills, as well as examine which classes could help student nutritionists understand behavior change, in order to help them become more adequately prepared for today’s setting. Through proper training of more education in communication, nutritionists should be able to help the public improve in changing their behavior and dietary habits.

Keywords: Nutritionists, Education, Workforce