Background to Trust a Dietitian
Trust a Dietitian is a British Dietetic Association (BDA) campaign simply aiming to highlight the work and worth of dietitians in the UK, to demonstrate how their work can greatly vary and to show the impact they have on millions of lives.
Trust a Dietitian will also equip dietitians themselves with information and resources to promote their services at a local level and to demonstrate the impact of their services in keeping the nation as healthy as possible when it comes to food and nutrition.
Both elements of Trust a Dietitian will ultimately promote the importance of the dietetic profession and the significant positive impact dietitians have on public health.
The environment within dietitians are working is constantly changing. There are financial restrictions on NHS and other organisations, and the expectations of health care workers are changing. Management structures are being eroded at a time when services are being planned and commissioned in new ways and dietitians are experiencing this first hand.
Current trends risks leaving a void in the understanding of the contributions of dietitians in improving care and outcomes of patients and clients. Dietitians across the UK have expressed concerns for the future of their profession, as outlined in the recent BDA Members’ Survey (July 2013).
While there are identifiable opportunities for dietitians to promote the profession and its worth, there is also an opportunity for the BDA to support this promotion on a wider basis. This is exactly why the Honorary Chairman of the BDA, Siân Burton, has adopted Trust a Dietitian as her key theme and campaign for her term of office. Knowing the worth of dietitians and their work sits at the heart of Trust a Dietitian, as does helping the wider dietetic profession get a better understanding of the value of their professions’ work.
Trust a Dietitian Aims:
- To equip BDA members with tools and resources to promote their services and the impact of these services
- To externally promote the importance of the profession and the significant impact dietitians have on public health
