With close to 230 registered dietitians serving in three branches of the US military
today, the roles they fill vary widely, from running health care facilities stateside
and abroad, to filling teaching and research positions, to creating health and wellness
programs (
1
,
2
,
3
). Since the 1940s, when the demand for dietitians in the military grew, registered
dietitians (RDs) have been tapped to fill critical roles, oftentimes moving to positions
of leadership within and outside of the medical realm (
4
,
5
). With starting salaries in the mid-$40,000s and a comprehensive benefits package,
military dietitians can expect to be rewarded for the service described by many interviewed
for this article as an opportunity for adventure (
1
,
2
,
3
).To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- GoArmy.com Web site.(Accessed August 28, 2008)
- Healthcare Careers: Biomedical Sciences Careers—Dietitian.(Accessed August 28, 2008)
- Navy.com Web site.(Accessed August 28, 2008)
- Army Medical Specialist Corps.(Accessed August 28, 2008)
- Perspectives on history: military dietetics in Europe during World War I.J Am Diet Assoc. 1993; 93: 897-900
- Perspectives on history: Army dietitians in the European, North African, and Mediterranean theaters of operation in World War II.J Am Diet Assoc. 1996; 96: 598-601
- US Military–Baylor Masters Program in Nutrition: Program Overview.(Accessed August 28, 2008)
- U.S. Army dietitians deploy in support of Cobra Gold: A humanitarian mission.Mil Med. 1999; 164: 488-494
- The Army dietitian in Panama: Military hospital feeding and humanitarian efforts during Operation Just Cause.Mil Med. 1996; 161: 723-725
- Many Specialties, One Corps: A Pictorial History of the Medical Services Corps.Donning Company Publishers, Virginia Beach, VA1997
- Nutrition makes a stand in Navy fitness.(Accessed August 31, 2008)
Article info
Footnotes
This article was written by Jennifer Mathieu, a freelance writer in Houston, TX. Mathieu is a former editorial assistant for the Journal and her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, and several other publications. She has received awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Dallas Press Club, the State Bar of Texas, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for her writing.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
