Saw the Dietician

[Amooliakin]

OK - we finally had the $150 meeting with the dietician. Did she know a lot about Celic? Yes. Did she give us good advice? Sure. Did she tell us more than you guys already had? Nope. Did she drone on for an hour until we were almost asleep? Yep.

Mostly she was concerned that our daughter get enough calcium. OK got it.... Now back to the regularly scheduled program....
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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets including 9 mice

[aklap]

[Amooliakin]

Yes Al - you SHOULD charge for what you do... not us of course... but as a private consultant to people who are first diagnosed or need help getting started.

The dietician was also helpful telling us about some food additives that I was not completely clear on (though I should be by now) and she did tell me about some web sites I had not heard of.

So I guess it wasn't a TOTAL waste of money and time....

She wasn't too great with kids though. So although she wanted Rebecca to come with us, poor Rebecca was bored to tears. It helped that there were things to look at in the office.... (toy frogs)....
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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets including 9 mice

[aklap]

[Amooliakin]

The sites she told me to look at are:


www.glutenfreerestaurants.org

www.celiacchicks.com

www.clanthompson.com


They all seem good to me... you may already know of them...

Amy
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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets including 9 mice

[RD/LD]

In the defense of RD's

Most Dietitians you visit in a doctor's office, clinic or hospital don't set their own fee's, their employer does and I've seen some higher than the $150.00 for the hour, if that's how long the appointment was for.

For the time and money it takes to get a minimal 4 year degree (BS) or MS in nutrition or dietetics plus a year in a supervised clinical internship, you're looking at a minimum of a $30,000+ educational expense in a state university for someone who's past the many required exams as well as a national exam to be called an RD. Now that doesn't include the yearly costs to maintain CPE's, licensure and/or professional fees. (OK now I'm complaining too)

I believe the main complaint you're all expressing is the knowledge base of gluten intolerance and Celiacs disease in the profession and I must agree, this is a specialty that doesn't really cover the costs of most dietitians in a clinical settings. If a dietitian wants to specialize in Celiacs and gluten intolerance she/he must take it upon themselves to learn the specialty on their own. As a dietitian learning about gluten intolerance myself I can tell you the educational opportunities offered through the traditional channels are far and few between. But things are changing, I've seen more materials recently, but it could be I'm more in tune with the offerings and medical research because of my desire to learn more.

Please keep in mind that Dietitians seeking clinical employment must maintain knowledge and skill in those specialties that can afford the expense of a non-insurance covered professional. You'll find more RD's in Cardiac, Renal, Bariatrics, Respiratory- pulmonary and ICU because the specialty can afford them.

As diagnosis of Celiacs and I believe more importantly Non-Celiac gluten intolerant people improves- you'll see more qualified dietitians get on board. As a private practice dietitian, I've got my hands full trying to help my clients who I believe could be gluten intolerance educate their doctors of the possibility they should be tested. And I'm sure you all know what a challenge that can be.

If you're seeing a dietitian in a clinical setting talk to her on the phone first and ask her if she specializes in Celiacs and gluten intolerance first before you waste your money. Otherwise keep in mind that she/he might offer balanced diet advice that might have taken a backseat to the challenge of eating gluten free.
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Debra,
RD/LD

[Fidissimus]

Debra - Welcome to the board!

I will have to say YEA! I'm so glad to hear from an RD/LD online. I think we are a bit guilty here of bitching about price vs. info. provided by this profession in general. I'm really glad you didn't take it personally and I'm very (overwhelming) pleased that you've taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, in educating yourself about CD.

I'm also looking forward to hearing from your point of view about all things related to your profession and how they may better positivity impact our community.
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[ostrich]

Just wanted to echo what Fid said, and add my own welcome. We get so wrapped up in the bad docs, it's sometimes hard to remember there are docs who're trying their best. I'm looking forward to hearing about things from your perspective.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[aklap]

Hi Debra,

Welcome!! Thanks for stopping by.

Jenn's right - we do tend to complain about that type of stuff. It's not without reason. Debra, you have to understand [I suspect you really do], that we are coming from years of doctor visits, years of tests, years of the docs saying "You're fine, it's all in your head", years of being alone and scared because those that are supposed to help us - can't/don't for whatever reason. So, now we are being sent to another appointment that may lead no where and we have to pay for it. It's frustrating to say the least.

As for CME's and additional info - it's there. You just have to look for it [as you've found]. Certainly there's more geared towards MD's than RD's [and their ilk]. Hence my RD's GF Resources List that I PM'ed you. I have a whole list of Info aimed at Medical Professionals
- and this is just a drop in the bucket to what's out there. If you want to see all sorts of studies, go to www.pubmed.com and search for celiac or gluten or whatever. Enjoy!!

I agree 100% with your comment about asking how versed that dietitian is in CD/GFD. Just like everything else - it's buyer beware. As in any profession, there are good ones and not so good ones. However...I don't think it's common practice when it comes to medicine to ask those questions. Particularly for the older generation. They believe they these people [the medical community] have all the answers and they will tell them what to do and not question them on it. Those that are younger, may be a bit more vocal. Those of us that have been thru the medical gauntlet are down right vocal about it. We know that the medical community are people just like us, they don't have all the answers, we tend to have a few answers of our own and will question the staff. Which then gets us in trouble for questioning the doctors - been there done that! LOL!!

As for my comment about the rate. It was tongue in cheek. I am a computer consultant, I charge by the hour. Believe me - I hear comments all the time when I give people our rates [85.00 per hr - and no, I personally don't make 85 per hr ]. I understand about the things that go into making up billable rates. As I stated, I've toyed with the idea of going back to school for this line of work. I've been to Dietitiancentral.com's salary survey page. At 150 per hr, and RD would make roughly 288K a year. If there were any 288K jobs there, I missed them I'm not counting the 110k job in AK.


Anyway - thanks Debra for stopping by. Thanks for not getting upset when we vent. Thanks for going the extra mile and learning about the GFD. I hope time will allow you to come and visit us more in the future.

Good luck in your practice!! www.cyclediet.com
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[jayhawkmom]

I jumped on to read this....as my daughter and I visited with a nutritionist/dietitian this morning. And, my experience was vastly different than what I've just read.

Actually, she deferred to MY knowledge of a gluten free diet!!! It was actually quite wonderful and refreshing. I'll post about it in a separate thread, because many folks here know that I was DREADING this appointment.

[aklap]

Hey Kris- glad to hear your meeting went well!!!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa