NevadaToday
Amanda Thurston and Mohit Mittal, from the first cohort of the Master of Science in nutrition dietetics specialization program, lead a DASH education session for residents at Reno’s Willie Wynn Apartments. The session focused on low‑sodium diets and building balanced plates. Photo by Angeline Jeyakumar.
Amanda Thurston and Mohit Mittal, from the first cohort of the Master of Science in nutrition dietetics specialization program, lead a DASH education session for residents at Reno’s Willie Wynn Apartments. The session focused on low‑sodium diets and building balanced plates. Photo by Angeline Jeyakumar.
Amanda Thurston and Mohit Mittal, from the first cohort of the Master of Science in nutrition dietetics specialization program, lead a DASH education session for residents at Reno’s Willie Wynn Apartments. The session focused on low‑sodium diets and building balanced plates. Photo by Angeline Jeyakumar.
Hospitals, schools and community health programs nationwide are facing a growing shortage of dietitian nutritionists, with demand projected to exceed new graduates by as much as 44%.
Even as the shortage grows, the profession has raised the bar to enter it. As of January 2024, aspiring registered dietitian nutritionists, experts who use food and nutrition science to support health and manage disease, must earn a master’s degree, complete at least 1,000 hours of supervised training and pass a national credentialing exam.
In response to the industry’s new training mandate, the University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources launched an online 18-month Master of Science in nutrition dietetics specialization program that integrates coursework with supervised clinical training into a streamlined pathway to becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist, especially for working professionals.
“We created the integrated training so that all the competencies required for supervised practice are built into the internship, creating a more seamless learning experience that reduces disruption for working adults,” said Karon Felten, a lecturer in the College’s Department of Nutrition and director of the Dietetic Internship Program. “Students must complete the online master’s coursework and hands-on internship before we can verify their eligibility for the Commission on Dietetic Registration exam, which qualifies them as registered dietitian nutritionists.”
Through long-standing partnerships with hospitals and community organizations in Reno and Las Vegas, including Renown Regional Medical Center, the Veterans Affairs medical centers, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, University Medical Center, Sunrise Hospital, Valley Hospital Medical Center and St. Rose Hospital, the program trains students across Nevada. Faculty and preceptors supervise rotations in clinical care, pediatrics, food service management, eating disorders, Extension programs and WIC, giving students exposure to the full continuum of nutrition practice.
Though the master’s dietetics specialization is a new format, the training behind it is well established. It builds on the Department’s Dietetic Internship Program, which has operated since 1990 and has been fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics since 1998. The program was most recently reaccredited through 2032, including a one-year extension in recognition of strong student outcomes and overall program quality.
That foundation is reflected in exam performance. While the national first-time pass rate for the registered dietitian nutritionist exam has recently hovered in the low-to-mid 60% range, graduates of the University’s Dietetic Internship Program have consistently had a pass rate that exceeded 90%, with the most recent pass rate at approximately 92%.
Today, graduates of the Dietetic Internship Program are translating that training into impact across Nevada’s health and nutrition systems. As registered dietitian nutritionists, they fill essential, front-line positions in programs such as the Women, Infants and Children; SNAP-Education; and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Nutrition and Food Services, serving some of the state’s most vulnerable populations and helping to prevent costly chronic diseases before they begin.
“With programs such as WIC and SNAP, our graduates are part of a critical workforce providing evidence-based nutrition counseling to pregnant and postpartum women and supporting healthy growth and development for young children during some of the most important stages of life,” Felten said. “They also help families make healthier food choices within limited budgets, reducing the risk of diet‑related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.”
The Dietetic Internship Program works closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the greater Reno area to provide medical nutrition therapy that supports veterans’ recovery, chronic disease management and long-term health.
Other alums of the program provide nutrition information and tools through entrepreneurial routes. Husband-and-wife program alums Stephen and Elise Compston, creators of Compston Kitchen, have developed a platform focused on practical, affordable and enjoyable eating. Luke Smith works as a global sports nutrition and fitness coach. Natalie Bazinet Locketz, a chef and nutrition entrepreneur, has built a personal brand around accessible food education and is a frequent on-air guest on QVC, where she has appeared in hundreds of live segments demonstrating kitchen tools and discussing food and nutrition.
The 2024 master’s degree requirement has reshaped who enters dietetics programs. Increasingly, students are not newcomers to the field, but working professionals balancing careers, family responsibilities and other commitments. The program’s online format offers a more accessible pathway, allowing students to pursue advanced training without stepping away from their lives or jobs.
To support students at different stages of education and experience, the department offers three pathways to meet accreditation requirements while accommodating diverse professional goals.
“We’ve built flexibility into the program to meet students where they are,” Felten said. “Some complete our online master’s degree alongside the integrated internship, while others come to us with a graduate degree and focus solely on supervised practice. We also work with students who are finishing a master’s at another institution and complete their internship with us at the same time.”
For Mohit Mittal, an international student who graduated from the new program last fall, the integrated structure proved especially critical. It allowed him to transition from academic coursework to supervised clinical practice without the added challenge international students can face when securing separate internships.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in nutrition in India, Mittal founded Health Lounges to provide evidence-based nutrition, fitness and workplace wellness coaching to individuals and corporate clients. He also began helping manage his parents’ diets to address their chronic conditions but saw limited results.
One semester into studying evidence-based dietary methods under David St-Jules, an assistant professor in the University’s Department of Nutrition, Mittal took a different approach.
He rebuilt each diet from the ground up: a high-fiber plan to help manage his father’s diabetes and a low-residue diet tailored to his mother’s ulcerative colitis.
“That’s when things changed,” Mittal said. “We started seeing meaningful improvements in managing my parents’ conditions and overall well-being.”
Mittal credits the improvement in his parents’ symptoms to the rigor of the master’s program, which combines clinical science with an interdisciplinary approach that considers cultural and behavioral factors.
“The online M.S. dietetics specialization was comprehensive and rigorous and prepared me to handle complex patient needs in ways my bachelor’s-level education alone couldn’t,” Mittal said
For program director Felten, that level of preparation is nonnegotiable.
“Our program is highly focused on clinical training, particularly in medical nutrition therapy, and there are no shortcuts to building those competencies,” she said. “By the time students begin their supervised practice, we expect them to have a strong foundation in metabolism, advanced clinical care and the behavioral dimensions of health.”
Amanda Thurston, who graduated alongside Mittal in the program’s first cohort last spring, also studied under David St-Jules, working through up to 30 clinical case studies involving both real and simulated patients.
“By the end of the program, I felt confident walking into a patient’s room, assessing their nutrition needs and using an evidence-based approach to develop care plans for both their hospital stay and when they return home,” she said.
A graduate of the department’s bachelor’s program in nutrition, Thurston worked her way from kitchen aide at Northern Nevada Medical Center to kitchen supervisor at Northwest Specialty Hospital while completing her studies. She completed her clinical rotations at Northern Nevada Medical Center, Northwest Specialty Hospital and Sierra Medical Center, all part of the Northern Nevada Health System.
Thurston funded her education through a combination of scholarships and savings.
“The journey was financially challenging and time-demanding, but it was more than worth it because of the opportunities it has created for me,” she said.
Both students also completed part of their internships with Angeline Jeyakumar, assistant professor of public health nutrition with the University’s Extension unit and the Department of Nutrition, where they developed educational materials for community programs, including food pantries.
Thurston was recently hired as a dietitian with the Northern Nevada Health System and will work under supervision until earning her registered dietitian credential. Mittal has recently earned his registered dietitian and licensed dietitian credentials, This month, he will join Sodexo as a clinical dietitian while continuing to operate his consultancy business.
“The concept of a dietitian has traditionally been someone working in a hospital, but that’s not where it is anymore,” Felten said. “We train our students to think beyond hospital walls, into communities, businesses and entrepreneurial roles, so they can meet people where they live their lives.”
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