Your Dietitian
Watching what you eat
The dietitian could be one of the
most important people you’ll
meet following your lary or trachi
surgery. They’re not just concerned
with making sure you get the right
balance of nutrients and calorific
intake – they’re there to make
sure you start enjoying your food
again as quickly as possible. No
wonder they’re so important to your
recovery!
The link between good food and
good health has long been seen
as a key part of patient recovery.
So dietitians work with all sorts of
people who are recovering from
illness to make sure they make the
right choices to aid their ongoing
health and wellbeing.
10 THE VOICE | Summer 2010
What does a dietitian actually do?
It’s a varied working life, particularly in the NHS
where dietitians get to work with all sorts of
people and help with a wide range of issues.
Beyond helping larys and trachis learn to eat
again, they obviously have an important role
to play in helping many other patients with
strictly regulated diets. From patients with food
intolerances and allergies, to cardiac patients who
have to adhere to food programmes to help cut
their risk of a heart attack.
It’s a very skilled business. Dietitians have to
study for four years and successfully complete a
practical internship before they’re able to practice.
While you’ll (hopefully) enjoy the practical side of
what they do – the meal plans and ongoing advice
- much of their working life is spent in theoretical
pursuits. From keeping tabs on all the latest
nutritional research, to evaluating laboratory data
and implementing the right kinds of solutions for
patients with wildly differing needs.
A dietitian has to get proactive too. Most hospitals
and NHS Trusts these days are just as concerned
with preventing conditions as they are with
treating them. In the long run of course it makes a
lot of sense. The more dietitians and other health