Health Careers
Dietary Manager
Professional Activities
Certified dietary managers are responsible for supervising food services and nutrition care services in various types of facilities or community-based programs. Typical activities in food service departments include helping with menu planning, producing schedules, and the standardizing of recipes. In addition, Certified Dietary Managers often oversee ordering, receiving, and storing of food and supplies. They may supervise other dietary workers and maintain equipment, sanitation, safety, and security procedures. Hospital-based certified dietary managers also help patients with menu selection and routine modifications to diets.
Certified dietary managers may or may not work under the direction of a dietitian. In some cases, such as with a school district, a registered dietitian may not be employed and thus all the nutritional decisions are made by the certified dietary manager. When certified dietary managers work in long term health care organizations, they are generally the department manager for the food services department with a registered dietitian serving as a consultant. In this case they are responsible for all aspects of the department from hiring, firing, writing evaluations, purchasing, scheduling, menus and any other duties that go with a specific job.
Like other members of the dietetic team, certified dietary managers may work in food programs located in hospitals and other facilities where people live and/or eat. Primary employers are the Alaska Native Health Service, the regional health corporations, state and federal health agencies, school districts, nursing homes, and hospitals. Other jobs are in community-based educational or nutrition programs. Rural Alaska employment opportunities are most often found in regional centers where such facilities and programs exist.
Educational Requirements
Individuals considering a career as a certified dietary manager should have an interest in working with food, the ability to work well with people, and supervisory potential.
- Graduation from high school or a GED, preferably with coursework in math, science, and communication.
- Completion of a college level, one-year Certified Dietary Manager program.
- Completion and passing scores on the National Certified Dietary Manager’s exam.
Academic Programs
We are unaware of any available academic programs in Alaska at this time. Distance delivered courses are available in the United States. Please refer to the Dietary Managers Association website for a listing of approved programs/schools with on-line or correspondence courses: http://www.dmaonline.org/educ/schools.html
Contacts
State Contact:
Dietary Manager’s Association-Alaska Chapter
Karen Stone, CDM, CFPP, Chapter President
Phone: (907) 223-5764
Email:
Web site: http://www.dmaonline.org/AK/
National Contact:
Dietary Manager’s Association (DMA)
406 Surrey Woods Dr
St. Charles, IL 60174
Phone: (800) 323-1908
Fax: (630) 587-6308
Web site: http://www.dmaonline.org/
This page was last updated by Janice Troyer on October 03, 2007
