by Julie Stefanski MEd, RDN, CSSD, CDE
I’ll be the first to admit it. I love registered dietitians. I love their passion, I love their quirkiness and I love the fact that I can count numerous like-minded nutrition professionals among my friends and colleagues. I love RDNs so much that I volunteer my time to help promote the value of registered dietitian nutritionists on daily basis. As a PR/Social Media chair for the PA Academy of Nutrition, I choose among limitless options what will be shared on PAND’s social media accounts. An important thought about this challenging task is always on my mind:
- How do we want others to view us?
- What do we want not only Pennsylvanians to know, but what do we want the world to know about what RDNs have to offer?
As healthcare professionals, registered dietitian nutritionists are uniquely trained to merge the science of nutrition and food with the medical, emotional, and even financial needs of our clients. As a vital resource, RDNs are the only healthcare professionals that have a significant part of our college curriculum devoted to understanding the subtle differences among both foods and their preparation methods. This is just one tiny, but vital aspect of our skills that become significantly important when discussing needed changes in a client’s life.
Despite the extent of our thorough and varied training, our message and value as registered dietitian nutritionists can get significantly overshadowed. A major issue we often have to combat? Misinformation.
When an RDN enters a patient’s hospital room and they quote from a famous celebrity talk show or the hobby blog of a man who recently lost 150 pounds, licensed nutritionists like ourselves, rely on our in-depth training, experience and knowledge of science-based, evidenced-focused nutrition facts to steer them in the right direction. How many times have you listened to popular social media hype or read about someone’s confusion online and thought, ‘if only their doctor had referred them to a registered dietitian?’ These thoughts and others led me to reach out to our PAND board of directors this year with one thought- “How can we better work
These thoughts and others led me to reach out to our PAND board of directors this year with one thought- “How can we better work together as Pennsylvania dietetics practitioners to have a more powerful presence?” As I was thinking about the excitement of our planned kickoff of this program and 2017, I wondered if I could come up 2,017 ways that registered dietitian nutritionists can help people live better lives? And you know what? I came up with 3,592 ways! Our current membership in PAND is
Our current membership in PAND is 3,592 individuals strong and each of us, in our own way, can help. We are all part of the PAND social media team. As 2017 begins, we embark on a new option to share reputable, but fun; accurate, but interesting; nutrition-focused articles. Our NEW #EatrightPA blogger program launches with this post and will feature some of the brightest stars in social media from across Pennsylvania. Each week, we will share their insightful work – right here on the new EatRight PA blog. Deanna Segrave-Daly RDN, LDN, and Clancy Harrison MS, RDN, FAND are our new blogging coordinators, who along with myself will strive to bring you up-to-date, entertaining articles from registered dietitians across the state.
So how can you help? Visit the www.eatrightpa.org BLOG (under For the Public) each week and SHARE! Share the articles with your social media network. Promote the fact that Pennsylvania has made the decision to license qualified nutritionists and why.
If you don’t participate in social media, then share via email or print and provide the articles to clients. Educate your family, your friends, and your co-workers on why registered dietitian nutritionists s are reliable sources of factual food facts and guidance.
Connect with us on social media! If you’re not a fan of Facebook then consider becoming more active in our professional discussions in our private LinkedIn group or our member only listserv. Both of these are member benefits that are focused on only professional issues. Share articles, your thoughts, and your successes with us so we can promote you! Connect with the PA Academy of Nutrition here:
- Facebook: PA Academy of Nutrition Dietetics PAND Formerly PADA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1828585
- Twitter: @EatrightPA
- Pinterest: @EatrightPA
- Instagram: @EatrightPA
We’re so excited to introduce you to our #EatrightPA Bloggers and the great info they have to share. Drop me a line with your thoughts or comments at stefanski96@comcast.net ! We’d love to hear from you. Happy 2017!
Julie Stefanski MEd, RDN, CSSD, LDN, CDE is a PR/Social Media Chair for the PA Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Julie is a reviewing editor and writer for Nutrition Dimension, a division of OnCourse Learning. Julie is the owner of Stefanski Nutrition Services, in York, PA and practices at Leg Up Farm, a unique facility for special needs children in Mt. Wolf, PA. You can connect with Julie on social media @foodhelp123. Her business website is www.stefanskinutrition.com
