Profession

Registered Dietitians are an integral member of the health care team at NYGH, ensuring that patients meet their nutritional needs based on their illness or condition.

This involves medical nutrition therapy and may include oral diet modification and or supplementation, as well as more invasive nutrition support techniques such as enteral nutrition or parenteral nutrition. Nutrition care also involves patient and family education, and counselling on diet and lifestyle changes to improve or maintain health.

At NYGH, the Registered Dietitians provide clinical services in both inpatients and outpatients across all sites.  Inpatient services include the Neonatal Intensive Care, Critical Care, Reactivation Care Centre, Medicine, Surgery, Mental Health, and Oncology programs. Outpatient services include the Diabetes Education Centre, Centre for Complex Diabetes Care, Adolescent and Adult Eating Disorders Programs, Baruch/Weisz Cancer Centre, Cardiac Care Clinic, Mental Health Paediatric Clinic, Paediatric Complex Care Clinic, Geriatric Day Hospital, and the Outreach Team.

Registered dietitians are governed by the Regulated Health Professions Act through the College of Dietitians of Ontario in order to ensure safe and quality nutrition care is provided to the public.

Education program

Intake for PMDip students is currently on pause.  NYGH has partnered with TMU in offering a clinical-focussed MHSc pilot program.

Professional Master’s Diploma in Dietetics (PMDip Dietetics)

NYGH-Toronto Metropolitan University’s Collaborative Professional Master’s Diploma (PMDip) in Dietetics is a professional program that provides practical, hands-on dietetic experience in clinical, population health, and management settings that enables students to obtain the Integrated Competencies for Dietetic Education and Practice developed by  the Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice.

Graduates are eligible to write the Canadian Dietetic Registration Exam and if successful, become Registered Dietitians.

Program duration: 3 semesters beginning each September and concluding end-July of following year.

Number of positions: 4 

Application process/Program fees: Please refer to Toronto Metropolitan University School of Nutrition website for more details. 

Program details

Nutrition Care

Theoretical knowledge of nutrition will be further developed in this practical setting. Skills are developed to function effectively as a member of the interprofessional health care team. Students will assess, plan and evaluate nutritional care for patients through application of evidence-based clinical guidelines and standards of care. Opportunities to further enhance skills in nutrition counseling and education for individuals and groups are provided in outpatient settings. Each rotation is 5-6 weeks in length.

Placement opportunities include the following areas:  General medicine, general surgery, elder care, neurology, mental health (adult, adolescent, geriatrics, and eating disorders), cancer care, palliative care, cardiology, neonatal ICU, critical care, diabetes education, and long-term care.

Management

Students will develop the skills and knowledge required to function as a member of the management team. You will gain experience with human resources, financial and materials management, food safety, food procurement, production, distribution and marketing. Students will spend 6-8 weeks in management.

Population and Public Health 

Students will gain knowledge and skills of health promotion assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation through completion of a capstone project in NC8300. Students will work in teams to engage a community of interest to develop and deliver nutrition education interventions. Students will be supported by the course instructor and health promotion experts during this project. 

Interprofessional Education    

Students will have the opportunity to learn from Registered Dietitians and other health care professionals from a variety of disciplines. Students will participate in a variety of student Interprofessional Education (IPE) opportunities which examine unique and overlapping professional roles and effective collaborative skills necessary for the provision of Interprofessional Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC).