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Celebrating the impact and value of Dietitians

This Dietitians Week (20-24 June), we’re encouraging all BDA members to talk about their role, what they do and how they make a difference. Help us raise the voice and visibility of Dietitians to show the value and impact you make every day.

Know your worth. Show your worth.

These are the key messages we want to share this Dietitians Week:

  • Dietitians and the dietetic workforce make a vital contribution to health across many different specialisms and healthcare settings

  • There is no ‘average’ Dietitian

  • Those working in the dietetic profession provide care and support for patients with long term and chronic conditions, as well as playing a significant role in prevention and public health

  • Dietitians and the dietetic workforce support patients at every life stage from paediatric to older people and everything in between

  • Through evidence-based research Dietitians and the dietetic workforce contribute to our understanding of health conditions and health improvement

  • There is greater understanding of how Dietitians and the dietetic workforce contribute to patient and population health but there’s still a long way to go

Doing a great job is important, and letting people know about it is equally important. Why should people trust a Dietitian if they don’t know what they do? This is why I always get involved with Dietitians Week — we are amazing and I want people to know it.

Long Li, Teaching Fellow in Dietetics at University of Surrey and Treasurer of BDA Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Specialist Group

How can you get involved?

In the workplace

On social media

  • We have lots of activity planned on the BDA’s social channels during the week such as 'All that a Dietitian thinks about when seeing patients', the wide variety of areas the dietetic workforce works in, including innovative career areas, and much more!
  • Get involved across your social platforms throughout the week and share what the profession does to your friends, family and wider networks. Please use the hashtags #WhatDietitiansDo #DW2022 and we will share your content. Search #DW2021 on Twitter to get inspired by last year's activity.

Last year during Dietitian’s Week I was active on social media viewing content shared by Dietitians and students which inspired me to begin my own Dietetics journey. I am now a first year RD2B and have recently created the Nutrition and Dietetics Society at Leeds Beckett University. I hope to work with my peers for Dietitians Week 2022 and raise more awareness of the profession through our social media platforms to inspire others. 

Fatimah Khathun, First Year BSc Dietetics Student at Leeds Beckett University

As an individual

My role in a photo

  • We want to showcase the breadth of what Dietitians do, so please prepare and share a photo of you that represents a day in the life of a Dietitian, dietetic assistant or dietetic student and we will showcase/share these across our platforms during Dietitians Week. 
  • Please post or share your photo on social on Monday or Tuesday of Dietitians Week tagging the BDA or using the Dietitians Week hashtags and we will collate all photos to share on Friday.

My role in a GIF/video

  • Any budding videographers out there who are able to produce a short video clip or GIF to illustrate their role - please do, we’d love to see and share them! 
  • Please post or share on social on Monday or Tuesday of Dietitians Week tagging the BDA or using the Dietitians Week hashtags and we will collate all entries to share on Friday.

Dietitians Week is always a monumental week in our calendars as it gives our profession a fantastic platform to highlight the important work we do all year round. In University Hospitals of Leicester we have a large team working across many specialisms, we feel it is imperative to highlight that we do not work in isolation but recognise that we are part of a much wider MDT family to provide first class patient care. With our population facing the biggest cost of living crisis potentially of our time this Dietitians Week we will focus on eating on a budget, cost effective meal planning, myth busting fad diets as well as promoting the amazing work our team do on a daily basis.

Cathy Steele, Dietetic Manager, University Hospitals of Leicester

As a BDA group or branch

We want all of our wonderful and diverse specialist group committee volunteers and members to get involved in Dietitians Week.

Groups

  • Please showcase the impact and value of the amazing work you do across your wide ranging and diverse specialist areas. Are there unique areas you work in, that your AHP colleagues or the wider public might not be aware of? Can you highlight and share this to showcase the diverse skills and expertise the dietetic workforce has?

Branches

As a BDA Country Board

Last year we used the week to highlight our teams, the different routes into the profession and the variety of roles. This year we will be focusing on our new services within our health board as well as working with our Dietetic students to highlight Dietetics as a profession.

Bethan Phillips, Clinical Lead Dietitian, Swansea Bay University Health Board Nutrition and Dietetics department

Resources

2022 will see the return of the Dietitians Week branded packs. The deadline for ordering these has now passed, but we will be adding printable resources for you to use here soon, so please keep checking back.

If you would like a pack sent out to you but you missed the deadline, please get in touch and we will see if we can help.