By: MARY-JO SAWYER | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published: March 14, 2012 Updated: March 14, 2012 - 12:00 AM

When you have a nutrition question, where's the first place you turn? Do you check the Internet or ask a friend? While you'll find some useful information that way, it may not be the most accurate. Instead, turn to a trusted source: a registered dietitian.

RDs are highly qualified professionals. They earn a nutrition or dietetics degree from universities accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association). Next, they complete a dietetic internship, and then pass the academy's national RD exam.

A few institutions offer a coordinated undergraduate program in dietetics instead of an internship.

Some RDs also earn master's degrees and doctorates, and additional specialized nutrition certifications.

People desiring to become RDs with a different undergraduate degree can pick up the dietetics classes they lack from accredited schools, so they can apply for an internship. The box accompanying this article shows Virginia's accredited dietetic programs.

Many RDs work with patients while they're in the hospital, but others see them as outpatients and in the community.

Whitney Voorhees is the RD for St. Mary's Hospital Cardiac Wellness Center at theBon Secours Heart and Vascular Institute. Patients in cardiac rehab participate in a 12-week program that includes exercise, nutrition counseling and classes.

"The patients are so appreciative they've learned eating habits that change their lives for better health," Voorhees said.

RD Alex Stolberg counsels patients for weight control, including obesity-surgery patients before and after their operation, in the outpatient nutrition clinic at VCU Medical Center.

Read the original post:
Practical Nutrition: On National RD Day, here's how to become one