Top 10 Tips for Graduate Dietitians
By
Evangeline Mouratidis, Graduate Dietitian
Evangeline Mouratidis, Graduate Dietitian
- Register with the DAA and start your APD program.
- Find a mentor sooner rather than later. Mentors can open many doors and work opportunities. Don’t feel compelled to have a job before securing a mentor.
- Apply for your Medicare provider number ASAP if you’re going into private practice! It can be a lengthy process.
- Sign up for professional insurance and an ABN.
- Know the types of patients that are likely to show up in your particular work setting, then grow your knowledge and develop client resources in these areas.
- Support your network and they will support you. Keep in touch with university friends, lecturers, and dietitians you meet at events. Having peers in both different and similar fields can be your sounding boards and help you grow your knowledge.
- Have a finger in every pie. Be involved in lots of different things, and jump on every opportunity that arises, then cull later if you need to.
- Volunteer, but be choosy. Do something that will benefit you as much as the organisation. Don’t just volunteer because everyone says you should.
- Organise to sit in with experienced dietitians consulting in a specialty area. There is much to learn from observation.
- Your job situation is not likely to be perfect initially. Do what you need to do, until you can do what you want to do.