Anyone here majoring in Nutritional Sciences??

[moto_za]

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Hi, I was wondering if people majoring in Nutritional Sciences could give me more info about the major and what they think about it? Anyone planning on doing a RD afterwords? Do classes for this major count towards the BCMP GPA? Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[neilious9]

yea nutritional sciences is a great major. in fact, if i could do it all over again I would choose that field. i was straight up bio but did my research in the department of nutritional sciences. Ever since then I have grown a passion for nutrition and have a interest in nutritional intervention. I thought about a RD and depending on what you like to do if may be the right path for you. To me it sounds like just making a bunch of the same ol' diet plans. nutritional sciences allows you to learn about how the environment has an impact on our health. it is the interaction of our genetic background along with nutrition and physical activity that contributes to our metabolic fitness. the more science-oriented classes should compute into your BCMP.

 

[Merissa87]

Yep, I'm a Nutrition Major right now minoring in Bio and Chem. I currently work at a Hospital as a Nutrition Tech. I was planning to go for my RD if I didn't get into med-school right away but I figured it was a waste of time. Nutrition is a great topic and if you are very interested in it, the classes are extremely easy, it's all repitition. I look at Nutrition as more of a hobby rather than a career choice. From my experience, it it ALOT of repitition. Also, its kind of a waste of time b/c you can give a patient all the nutritional advice you want and make all the recommendations to the doctor, and most of the time, they think Nutrition is a Joke, so they do not even read or acknowledge your recommendations so they never go into play. In being a Nutrition tech we mainly educate patients on nutrition that cooresponds with their medical condition and develop a balanced diet based on the doctors orders. As far as RD's, you should shadow one to get the full grasp of what they do. The majority of their time is spent calculating Tube Feeding Formulas, which can be very interesting (yeah right) and again, they make alot of recommendations do the Dr. but are not very acknowledged. Becoming a Doctor and having a nutritional Background is soo beneficial. Most doctors receive NO nutritional training. Nutrition does play a part in medicine and health though b/c you are what you eat. I plan to tie in my Nutrition knowledge into my career as a doctor by becoming a Gastroenterologist and owning a "health and wellness" center where ppl can get advice on weight loss and health. If you have any questions please ask 🙂

 

[psychRN]

Yep, I'm a Nutrition Major right now minoring in Bio and Chem. I currently work at a Hospital as a Nutrition Tech. I was planning to go for my RD if I didn't get into med-school right away but I figured it was a waste of time. Nutrition is a great topic and if you are very interested in it, the classes are extremely easy, it's all repitition. I look at Nutrition as more of a hobby rather than a career choice. From my experience, it it ALOT of repitition. Also, its kind of a waste of time b/c you can give a patient all the nutritional advice you want and make all the recommendations to the doctor, and most of the time, they think Nutrition is a Joke, so they do not even read or acknowledge your recommendations so they never go into play. In being a Nutrition tech we mainly educate patients on nutrition that cooresponds with their medical condition and develop a balanced diet based on the doctors orders. As far as RD's, you should shadow one to get the full grasp of what they do. The majority of their time is spent calculating Tube Feeding Formulas, which can be very interesting (yeah right) and again, they make alot of recommendations do the Dr. but are not very acknowledged. Becoming a Doctor and having a nutritional Background is soo beneficial. Most doctors receive NO nutritional training. Nutrition does play a part in medicine and health though b/c you are what you eat. I plan to tie in my Nutrition knowledge into my career as a doctor by becoming a Gastroenterologist and owning a "health and wellness" center where ppl can get advice on weight loss and health. If you have any questions please ask 🙂

I know an African American doctor whom just opened a health and wellness clinic. He focuses on preventative medicine. It is an awesome place. Let me know if you would like the website. He is very knowledgeable about nutrition and it's effect on your health. As a matter of fact, you have to sign a form saying that you plan to take responsibility for your own health by utilizing the recommendations and treatment plan prescribed which includes diets with as much organic foods as you can afford. Helps get pts away from "the doctor will cure me" syndrome. It is a fabulous place with a medical spa on the opposite side. He also answers emails.

 

[Merissa87]

I know an African American doctor whom just opened a health and wellness clinic. He focuses on preventative medicine. It is an awesome place. Let me know if you would like the website. He is very knowledgeable about nutrition and it's effect on your health. As a matter of fact, you have to sign a form saying that you plan to take responsibility for your own health by utilizing the recommendations and treatment plan prescribed which includes diets with as much organic foods as you can afford. Helps get pts away from "the doctor will cure me" syndrome. It is a fabulous place with a medical spa on the opposite side. He also answers emails.

wow! that sounds exactly like the program I want to have, the spa and all! Plleease can I have the website to check it out

 

[SRK85]

Cool and I just got offered admission today into Penn State's nurtional science program and im trying to decide if thats the major for me. So Nurtional Sciences is more then just giving people diet advice damn this makes my decison harder to where I will be this fall.

 

[DrBowtie]

I know an African American doctor whom just opened a health and wellness clinic. He focuses on preventative medicine. It is an awesome place. Let me know if you would like the website. He is very knowledgeable about nutrition and it's effect on your health. As a matter of fact, you have to sign a form saying that you plan to take responsibility for your own health by utilizing the recommendations and treatment plan prescribed which includes diets with as much organic foods as you can afford. Helps get pts away from "the doctor will cure me" syndrome. It is a fabulous place with a medical spa on the opposite side. He also answers emails.

Two words: Cash Cow

 

[moto_za]

Thanks for all the info.
Merissa87: I was wondering why you think the RD is a waste of time?
Do you know how long program is and where I could get more info? I was thinking of doing the RD think if I could cram it into a semester and a summer before med school.

 

[Taus]

Cool and I just got offered admission today into Penn State's nurtional science program and im trying to decide if thats the major for me. So Nurtional Sciences is more then just giving people diet advice damn this makes my decison harder to where I will be this fall.

that was my major at PSU....I am very pleased w/ my decision....you get all the core sciences and med school pre-req's...but from a more healthcare-directed perspective in my opinion......there were many other students in the major w/ me who are now in med school

 

[CptCrunch]

In Russia, Nutritional Sciences major in you!

 

[SRK85]

that was my major at PSU....I am very pleased w/ my decision....you get all the core sciences and med school pre-req's...but from a more healthcare-directed perspective in my opinion......there were many other students in the major w/ me who are now in med school

Cool im still thinking about it ill get more info on the program in the mail. The only problem I have with penn state is that they will not allow me to change my major. So if I go for nutrtional sciences I may no be able to change my major if I don't like it.

 

[Taus]

Cool im still thinking about it ill get more info on the program in the mail. The only problem I have with penn state is that they will not allow me to change my major. So if I go for nutrtional sciences I may no be able to change my major if I don't like it.

I don't see why you couldn't change your major....most college students change several times...

 

[Merissa87]

Usually most RD programs are 8-10 months or more. Most of them result in a Masters Degree but many just grant you the RD. The shortest program I have heard of is 6 months and they only accept 12 students, all are very competitive and you are placed into the program by a computerized match system. If you go to the ADA's website www.eatright.org and click on Careers and Students and then on "Accredited Education Programs" you can view all of the internship programs. In my opinion, I would not become an RD just for the "healthcare experience" At my hospital, all the RD's do are calculate Tube Feeding formulas for pts in the ICU and formulas for the babies in the NICU. The Dietitian Techs (thats what I do) are the ones who go and get to talk to the patients, educate them, etc. The RD's talk to the patients also, but not as often as the techs. Being a tech you get more "hands on" experience in nutrition. I heard in the RD internship you learn ALOT of great things, even if you don't use them at your job. Check it out, becoming an RD before medical school might be a good choice. If I don't get in on my first try (god forbid) I might do that. If you have any more questions please ask and I will help you out as much as I can! Good Luck

P.S. I should of mentioned this but there are many opportunities for RD's outside of a hospitals. In Hospitals RD's don't make that much money, but there are many private practice dietitians you can work for. You can work for WIC, you can be a diabetes educator, you can do sports nutrition, anorexia and bulemia counseling, work for a Doctor's office, many health/day spa's also hire dietitians, so the map is endless. From my experience from working with dietitians, there are apparently wayyy less job openings than there are dietitians around so it is somewhat hard to find job placement b/c each hospital only needs a few or so dietitians. Hope this helps!

 

[SRK85]

I don't see why you couldn't change your major....most college students change several times...

Well according to the letter if I agree to transfer into the human devlopment program its highly unlikely I will be able to change my major at a later date. So im probably staying at my current college and major in medical technology.

 

[psychRN]

Two words: Cash Cow

meaning what?