A clinical dietitian’s main role is to design nutrition programs to improve or maintain the health of patients. These programs may be short-term or long-term, depending on the patient. A short-term example could be to ensure that proper nutrition is delivered to an accident victim until full healing has occurred. Or they may be long-term for patients with diabetes, kidney disease or old age conditions that affect proper nutrition.  The programs designed may be preventive, for heart disease or obesity, or therapeutic to help a patient with heart disease maintain a baseline health and nutrition state.

Dietitians will asses the persons’s nutritional and health needs.

For the nutritional aspect, the dietitian will counsel the patient on any nutrition issues and healthy eating habits. Creating meal plans that are nutritious, enjoyable, and affordable all are apart of a dietitians process.

As well as improving the patients health, the dietitian will promote better health by talking about diet, nutrition, and preventing or managing diseases.