On-the-job training of clinical nutrition personnel to promote career mobility within the department

Since the responsibilities of the clinical dietitian have expanded and become increasingly complex, the need for the dietitian to delegate routine tasks to competent supportive personnel has become essential. The American Dietetic Association attempted to address this need in 1974 by establishing 1-year dietetic technician programs. Graduates become dietetic technicians who provide technical assistance to the dietitian. Unfortunately, an unbalanced distribution of dietetic technician programs throughout the country and inadequate enrollment have resulted in a limited supply of available dietetic technicians for many nutrition departments. In response to the shortage of dietetic technicians in this metropolitan area, the Clinical Nutrition Service at the National Institutes of Health developed the Health Technician Dietetic Training Program (HTDTP). In contrast to dietetic technician programs, this was an abbreviated, on-the-job, competency-based course designed to educate and train ancillary nutrition personnel to become health technicians--individuals who could provide technical support for the dietitian