The future of dietetics - by Katy Stuart, RD
It was the BDA's Dietitians Week last week (2-6 June) - our chance to celebrate our profession and let people know how valuable dietitians are in the NHS workforce and in other settings too.[1] The theme for the week was ‘ the future of dietetics' and we were encouraged to look ahead in our careers at what opportunities there are to advance our knowledge and skills, to perhaps become highly specialist advanced care practitioners (ACP).
The ‘Future Dietitian 2025’ research project, carried out by the BDA and Plymouth University in 2017, show the relevance of dietetics within a changing world and what adaptations are needed to ensure dietitians remain an essential part of the healthcare workforce.[2] This research project underpins the new workforce strategy that the BDA is developing.[2] Here are some of the results of the study:
Dietitians in the UK mainly work in the NHS, and around a third work in other sectors.
The demographics are that dietitians are mostly female and over 50% of those who work in the NHS are under the age of 40.
There has been an increase in long-term conditions such as dementia.
There have been changes in the diversity of society with health inequalities.
There has been limited funding to expand and improve clinical services.
The Future Dietitian project
The NHS was set up in 1948 and society has changed dramatically since then. With rising age and increased numbers of those living with chronic health conditions, as well as new advances in costly medical treatments, pharmaceuticals and technologies, our healthcare system is stretched to the limit.[2] People’s expectations of healthcare are also increasing, leading to more pressure being put on services and healthcare staff.[2]
The good thing is that there is also more recognition of the impact of nutrition interventions on health outcomes and the need for registered dietitians to help people choose healthier food options and improve their health and quality of life.[2] This raises the profile of our profession further.
The Future Dietitian project also identified common themes from the dietitians they surveyed including: [2]
Strong professional identity.
The need for a firm underlying structure and direction for the profession, and increasing our visibility and influence on public health.
The need for dietitians to embrace the new technologies and science that are emerging.
More opportunities for career advancement, eg, advanced clinical practitioner (ACP), research, etc.
New exciting roles for dietitians
There have been many changes in dietetic practice over my 20 years’ experience. We are no longer seen as just nutrition advisers or the ‘food police’. We are now working within multidisciplinary teams of clinicians and other allied health professionals (AHPs), providing evidence-based clinical nutrition treatment plans. We challenge inappropriate nutritional care and always advocate for our patients.[2] Our profession is much more visible in the media, and the public is now recognising the importance of seeking nutrition advice from registered health professionals.
Many dietitians will begin their career working in a hospital and providing nutritional care to patients on the wards. This allows a good knowledge and skills base to develop. Rotational Band 5 dietetic posts are ideal, and new graduates can gain experience in different areas and find a specialism they are interested in, such as diabetes, renal, paediatrics, gastroenterology and nutrition support, to name but a few. To further develop into specialist dietitians, it is necessary to complete the appropriate competencies for the role and undertake further training and education, for example, a Master's module or equivalent, or a non-medical prescribing course.[3] Dietitians can also advance to management level and become service leads, AHP leads and/or work as researchers.[3,4,5]
As well as specialist dietetic roles, dietitians can now train to become advanced clinical practitioner (ACP) dietitians, which is very exciting! By definition, the ACP is an experienced registered health professional whose training, clinical expertise and autonomy allow them to assess, diagnose and treat illnesses within their scope of practice.[3,6-11] Becoming an ACP involves demonstrating competency in the four pillars underpinning advanced-level working:[3]
Clinical Practice
Leadership and Management
Learning and Education
Research
More support and advice for health professionals wishing to advance in their career can be gained from organisations such as the Centre for Advancing Practice and the NHS Leadership Academy.[12,13]
A good example of an ACP role is that of the First Contact Dietitian working in primary care. They can intervene and initiate treatment plans sooner rather than the patient having to wait for a referral to secondary care.[6] If the First Contact Dietitian has a non-medical prescribing qualification, they can even prescribe medications the patient may require (under a clinical management plan.) This has the benefits of reducing the pressure on secondary care services, reducing costs, saving time and improving the patient experience.[6,7,12,14]
Technology is evolving and dietitians now require good digital skills to allow for different methods of communicating with and educating our patients and colleagues, eg, virtual clinics and online training.[5,8] Dietitians also need to stay up to date with the latest nutrition apps so we can advise our patients on the most appropriate for their needs.
Other roles expanding the dietetic workforce
As well as registered dietitians, many dietetic departments now employ dietetic assistants (DA), dietetic support workers (DSW)[15] and apprentice dietitians, further expanding the workforce. DAs and DSWs can deliver dietetic care and carry out tasks as directed and supervised by a registered dietitian and the roles are diverse, from paediatrics and home enteral nutrition to nutrition support and staff education.[16] Dietitian apprenticeships allow new vocational work-based learning with study for a university degree. This has been set up to allow such staff to retain employment and a salary while gaining a qualification and then moving into a registered dietitian role with the same employer when completed.[17]
However, there does need to be more investment in dietetic education and increased funding within the NHS to support those who are seeking to gain further qualifications needed for a specialist advanced role.[3,4] Train, retain and reform.[4] Employers need to offer more opportunities for their staff to train and advance and hopefully this will encourage staff to remain and focus on local service improvement.[4] The NHS England Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) calls for more recognition, funding and more accessible training pathways to help support AHPs with their career progression.[3] NHS Trust managers need to work with AHP leads to review their services and identify areas that could be restructured to allow for a qualified ACP to take on a clinician's role and thus deliver a better and more cost-effective service.[10] The nutrition and dietetic curriculum should be reflective of the diversity of dietetic roles and offer new pathways for training and development, such as dietitian apprenticeships.[2,5]
End note
I hope you have all enjoyed Dietitians Week and have been inspired. Give yourselves a pat on the back for the amazing work you do and remind yourselves how valuable you are to the workforce! All of us have one goal in mind when we carry out our work and that is to help people to improve their health and their lives as best we can.
Katy is currently a Specialist Renal Dietitian working in the community. She has 20 years of experience working in the NHS in various roles, including
nutrition support, ICU and renal.
Katy Stuart, RD, Specialist Renal Dietitian
References
British Dietetics Association (2025). Dietitians Week. https://www.bda.uk.com/news-campaigns/campaigns/dietitians-week.html
Hickson M, Child J, Collinson A. Future Dietitian 2025: informing the development of a workforce strategy for dietetics, 2017, Pearl/University of Plymouth. https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=hp-research
British Dietetics Association, 2025, Advanced Practice. https://www.bda.uk.com/practice-and-education/career-and-workforce/advanced-practice.html#:~:text=Roles%20and%20titles,seen%20in%20our%20case%20studies.
NHS England. NHS Longterm Workforce Plan (2023). https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan-v1.21.pdf
Boak R, Palermo C, Beck E, Patch C, Pelly F, Wall C, Gallegos C (2022) A qualitative exploration of the future of nutrition and dietetics in Australia and New Zealand: Implications for the workforce, Nutrition and Dietetics 79(4):427-437. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9545913/
British Dietetics Association (2025). Sample Business Case Neonatal Advanced Clinical Practitioner. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/7b5faa19-bee1-42c0-863769382cf75aa0/Neonatal-Advanced-Clinical-Practitioner-sample-business-case.pdf
British Dietetic Association, Advanced Practice Case Study – Rebecca Revell. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/ba2dcff3-9e77-4ad8-afac7e8bac98349b/Advanced-Practice-Case-Study-RebeccaR.pdf
British Dietetic Association, Advanced Practice Case Study - Lisa Williams. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/46d6d60f-bcfe-4343-869085e5a3b1270b/23c4f7f4-3882-4602-b7902a75fdb1f230/Advanced-Practice-Case-Study-LisaW.pdf
British Dietetic Association, Advanced Practice Case Study - Heather Norris. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/fdd3c4af-1c82-4679-84b7a6cc4bf61eca/Advanced-Practice-Case-Study-HeatherN.pdf
British Dietetics Association, Advanced Practice Case Study - Lauren McVeigh. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/a4eb05d3-dd3d-4556-aaa205539f23c9de/Advanced-Practice-Case-Study-LaurenM.pdf
British Dietetics Association Advanced Practice Case Study - Dr Paul McArdle. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/23a53d22-c52e-4454-b1b7445a75990603/Consultant-Level-Case-Study-PaulM.pdf
NHS England, Workforce Training and Education (2025). https://advanced-practice.hee.nhs.uk/about-us/
NHS Leadership Academy (2025). https://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/
British Dietetics Association, 2023, Dietitians in primary care: A guide for general practice. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/3e5f9b58-7656-450e-a5548a64ef18d2de/e7282a8e-5763-44b8-84a1c66334929efd/Dietitians-in-primary-care-a-guide-for-general-practice.pdf
NHS Scotland. Careers How to become a dietetic support worker. https://www.careers.nhs.scot/explore-careers/healthcare-support-workers/dietetic-support-worker/#:~:text=Dietetic%20support%20workers%20have%20a,to%20their%20diet%20and%20nutrition
University of Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust, Dietetic Assistants and Dietetic Assistant Guideline (2023). https://secure.library.leicestershospitals.nhs.uk/PAGL/Shared%20Documents/Dietetic%20Support%20Workers%20or%20Dietetic%20Assistant%20Practitioners%20UHL%20Nutrition%20and%20Dietetics%20Guideline.pdf
British Dietetics Association (2025). What is first contact practice? https://www.bda.uk.com/practice-and-education/career-and-workforce/primary-care/working-in-primary-care/what-is-first-contact-practice.html
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