Dietitian

Degree apprenticeship (integrated degree) · Health and science route · Standard ST0599 v2.0

Level: 6
Typical duration: 48 months (about 4 years)
Max funding band: £24,000
Route: Health and science
Regulated by: Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Using advanced communication and behaviour-change skills to enable people to make lifestyle and food choices to improve their health.

About the role

This occupation is found in the health sector. Dietitians are predominantly employed by the NHS, working in hospitals, seeing patients both on wards and in out-patient clinics, and in the community, for example, seeing patients in GP practices, their own home, care homes, schools or health centres. Dietitians are also employed in the food industry, including clinical nutrition companies, with further employment opportunities in higher education, sport, media, and national and local government. Some dietitians are freelance and self-employed.

The occupation’s broad purpose is to assess, diagnose, plan, implement, monitor, review and evaluate nutrition and dietetic interventions. Dietitians use the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on food, health and disease to inform their practice. They work in partnership with a diverse range of people to provide tailored, evidence-based practical advice to individuals, groups and populations across the lifespan. Dietitians are key members of clinical multi-disciplinary teams. They prevent, manage and treat a wide range of conditions including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, food allergy and intolerance, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, stroke, liver and kidney disease, mental health conditions, and disease-related malnutrition. Dietitians use advanced communication and behaviour-change skills to enable individuals to make lifestyle and food choices to improve their health and wellbeing.

Dietitians also tailor specific nutritional, diet-related advice, using a range of tools to work with a diverse set of individuals, groups, communities and other health professionals.

They may supervise dietetic assistants/support workers and contribute to training dietetic students in the department. They will typically be managed by a dietitian service manager. Although they work as part of a wider healthcare team, dietitians often work remotely from the team as autonomous practitioners, which means that they are professionally and legally accountable for their own actions and decisions. They are responsible for maintaining their own knowledge and skills and must engage in continuing professional development activities to maintain their statutory registration.

How it compares

At 48 months (about 4 years), it is longer than average for a degree-level apprenticeship (the average across all 172 Level 6+ standards is 39 months).

The funding band — the maximum an employer's levy can contribute to training costs — is £24,000, at or above the £21,500 average for degree-level standards. Apprentices never pay tuition either way.

Typical job titles

Dietitian

Entry requirements

Entry requirements will be determined by the employer and the university, however, this will typically include 3 A-levels (to include biology) or equivalent qualifications

Entry requirements are ultimately set by each employer — treat these as the baseline, not the bar.

What you come out with

Apprentices will be required to complete a BSc (Hons) degree in Dietetics or Level 7 qualification approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) where the apprentice already holds a Level 6 degree — Level 6 (integrated degree)

What you'll learn

The official standard defines 10 core duties, 49 knowledge areas, 79 skills, 6 behaviours. This is the actual assessed content of the apprenticeship — worth reading before an interview, because competency questions are usually written straight from these lists.

Core duties 10

Practise safely and effectively within the scope of practice and within the legal and ethical boundaries of the profession.
Look after own health and wellbeing, seeking appropriate support where necessary.
Practise as an autonomous professional, exercising professional judgement.
Practise in a non-discriminatory and inclusive manner recognising the impact of culture, equality and diversity.
Communicate effectively, maintaining confidentiality and records appropriately.
Work appropriately with others.
Reflect on, review and assure the quality of own practice.
Draw on appropriate knowledge and skills to inform practice and apply the key concepts of the knowledge base relevant to the profession.
Establish and maintain a safe practice environment.
Promote public health and prevent ill health.

Knowledge 49

The importance of continuing professional development throughout own career.
The importance of safeguarding, signs of abuse and relevant safeguarding processes.
What is required of them by the Health and Care Professions Council, including but not limited to the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics.
The importance of valid consent.
The importance of capacity in the context of delivering care and treatment.
The scope of a professional duty of care, and how to exercise that duty.
Legislation, policies and guidance relevant to own profession and scope of practice.
Policy, ethical and research frameworks that underpin, inform, and influence the practice of dietetics.
The ethical and legal implications of withholding and withdrawing feeding including nutrition support.
The importance of own mental and physical health and wellbeing strategies in maintaining fitness to practise.
How to take appropriate action if own health may affect own ability to practise safely and effectively, including seeking help and support when necessary.
The need for active participation in training, supervision and mentoring in supporting high standards of practice, and personal and professional conduct, and the importance of demonstrating this in practice.
Equality legislation and how to apply it to own practice.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments in practice.
The characteristics and consequences of barriers to inclusion, including for socially isolated groups.
That regard to equality, diversity and inclusion needs to be embedded in the application of all HCPC standards and across all areas of practice.
The significance and potential effect of dietary and non-dietary factors when helping individuals, groups and communities to make informed choices about interventions and lifestyle, across a diverse range of dietetic interventions.
When disclosure of confidential information may be required.
The principles of information and data governance and the safe and effective use of health, social care and other relevant information.
The need to ensure confidentiality is maintained in all situations in which service users rely on additional communication support, such as interpreters or translators.
That the concepts of confidentiality and informed consent extend to all mediums, including illustrative clinical records such as photography, video and audio recordings and digital platforms.
The characteristics and consequences of verbal and non-verbal communication and recognise how these can be affected by difference of any kind including, but not limited to, protected characteristics, intersectional experiences and cultural differences.
The need to support the communication needs of service users and carers, such as through the use of an appropriate interpreter.
The need to provide service users or people acting on own behalf with the information necessary in accessible formats to enable them to make informed decisions.
The principles and practices of other health and care professionals and systems and how they interact with own profession.
The need to build and sustain professional relationships as both an autonomous practitioner and collaboratively as a member of a team.
The qualities, behaviours and benefits of leadership.
That leadership is a skill all professionals can demonstrate.
The need to engage service users and carers in planning and evaluating diagnostics, and therapeutic interventions to meet their needs and goals.
The value of reflective practice and the need to record the outcome of such reflection to support continuous improvement.
The value of multi-disciplinary reviews, case conferences and other methods of review.
The value of gathering and using data for quality assurance and improvement programmes.
The structure and function of the human body, together with knowledge of physical and mental health, disease, disorder and dysfunction relevant to their profession.
The roles of other professions in health and social care and how they may relate to the role of dietitian.
The structure and function of health and social care systems and services in the UK.
The theoretical basis of, and the variety of approaches to, assessment, diagnosis, intervention and evaluation.
in the context of nutrition and dietetic practice:- biochemistry- clinical dietetics- clinical medicine- epidemiology- genetics- genomics- immunology- microbiology- nutritional sciences- pathophysiology- pharmacology- physiology- psychology- public health nutrition.
in the context of nutrition and dietetic practice:- food hygiene- food science- food skills- food systems management- menu planning- the factors that influence food choice.
The principles behind the use of nutritional analysis programs to analyse food intake records and recipes and interpret the results.
In the context of nutrition and dietetic practice legislation relating to food labelling and health claims.
In the context of nutrition and dietetic practice, the use of appropriate educational strategies, communication, and models of empowerment, behaviour change and health promotion.
In the context of nutrition and dietetic practice:- management of health and social care- public health relevant to the dietetic management of individuals, groups or communities- social policy- sociology.
The methods commonly used in nutrition research.
A range of research methodologies relevant to own role.
The value of research to the critical evaluation of practice.
The need to maintain the safety of themselves and others, including service users, carers and colleagues.
Relevant health and safety legislation and local operational procedures and policies.
The role of the profession in health promotion, health education and preventing ill health.
How social, economic and environmental factors, wider determinants of health, can influence a person’s health and well-being.

Skills 79

Identify the limits of own practice and when to seek advice or refer to another professional or service.
Recognise the need to manage own workload and resources safely and effectively, including managing the emotional burden that comes with working in a pressured environment.
Keep own skills and knowledge up to date.
Maintain high standards of personal and professional conduct.
Engage in safeguarding processes where necessary.
Promote and protect the service user’s interests at all times.
Respect and uphold the rights, dignity, values, and autonomy of service users, including own role in the assessment, diagnostic, treatment and/or therapeutic process.
Recognise that relationships with service users, carers and others should be based on mutual respect and trust, and maintain high standards of care in all circumstances.
Obtain valid consent, which is voluntary and informed, has due regard to capacity, is proportionate to the circumstances and is appropriately documented.
Apply legislation, policies and guidance relevant to own profession and scope of practice.
Recognise the power imbalance which comes with being a health care professional, and ensure it is not for personal gain.
Identify own anxiety and stress and recognise the potential impact on own practice.
Develop and adopt clear strategies for physical and mental self-care and self-awareness, to maintain a high standard of professional effectiveness and a safe working environment.
Recognise that they are personally responsible for, and must be able to, justify their decisions and actions.
Use own skills, knowledge and experience, and the information available, to make informed decisions and / or take action where necessary.
Make reasoned decisions to initiate, continue, modify or cease treatment or the use of techniques or procedures, and record the decisions and reasoning appropriately.
Make and receive appropriate referrals, where necessary.
Exercise personal initiative.
Demonstrate a logical and systematic approach to problem solving.
Use research, reasoning and problem-solving skills when determining appropriate actions.
Make reasoned decisions to accept or decline requests for intervention.
Respond appropriately to the needs of all different groups and individuals in practice, recognising this can be affected by difference of any kind including, but not limited to, protected characteristics, intersectional experiences and cultural differences.
Recognise the potential impact of own values, beliefs and personal biases, which may be unconscious, on practice and take personal action to ensure all service users and carers are treated appropriately with respect and dignity.
Make and support reasonable adjustments in owns and others’ practice.
Actively challenge barriers to inclusion, supporting the implementation of change wherever possible.
Demonstrate sensitivity to factors that affect diet, lifestyle and health and that may affect the interaction between service user and dietitian.
Adhere to the professional duty of confidentiality.
Respond in a timely manner to situations where it is necessary to share information to safeguard service users, carers and/or the wider public and recognise situations where it is necessary to share information to safeguard service users, carers and/or the wider public.
Use effective and appropriate verbal and non-verbal skills to communicate with service users, carers, colleagues and others.
Communicate in English to the required standard for their profession.
Work with service users and/or own carers to facilitate the service user’s preferred role in decision-making, and provide service users and carers with the information they may need where appropriate.
Modify own means of communication to address the individual communication needs and preferences of service users and carers, and remove any barriers to communication where possible.
Use information, communication and digital technologies appropriate to own practice.
Keep full, clear and accurate records in accordance with applicable legislation, protocols and guidelines.
Manage records and all other information in accordance with applicable legislation, protocols and guidelines.
Use digital record keeping tools, where required.
Work in partnership with service users, carers, colleagues and others.
Contribute effectively to work undertaken as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Identify anxiety and stress in service users, carers and colleagues, adapting own practice and providing support where appropriate.
Identify own leadership qualities, behaviours and approaches, taking into account the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Demonstrate leadership behaviours appropriate to own practice.
Act as a role model for others.
Promote and engage in the learning of others.
Empower individuals, groups and communities to make informed choices including diet, physical activity and other lifestyle adjustments.
Work with service users to implement changes in interventions in line with new developments, evidenced-based practice and their outcomes.
Engage in evidence-based practice.
Gather and use feedback and information, including qualitative and quantitative data, to evaluate the responses of service users to own care.
Monitor and systematically evaluate the quality of practice, and maintain an effective quality management and quality assurance process working towards continual improvement.
Participate in quality management, including quality control, quality assurance, clinical governance and the use of appropriate outcome measures.
Evaluate care plans or intervention plans using recognised and appropriate outcome measures, in conjunction with the service user where possible, and revise the plans as necessary.
Demonstrate awareness of the principles and applications of scientific enquiry, including the evaluation of treatment efficacy and the research process.
Critically evaluate research papers.
Change own practice as needed to take account of new developments, technologies and changing contexts.
Gather appropriate information.
Analyse and critically evaluate the information collected.
Select and use appropriate assessment techniques and equipment.
Undertake and record a thorough, sensitive, and detailed assessment.
Undertake or arrange investigations as appropriate.
Conduct appropriate assessment or monitoring procedures, treatment, therapy or other actions safely and effectively.
Critically evaluate research and other evidence to inform own practice.
Engage service users in research as appropriate.
Accurately assess nutritional needs of individuals, groups and populations, in a sensitive and detailed way using appropriate techniques and resources.
Analyse and critically evaluate assessment information to identify nutritional needs, develop a diagnosis and develop intervention plans including the setting of timescales, goals and outcomes.
Critically evaluate the information gained in monitoring to review and revise the intervention.
Monitor the progress of nutrition and dietetic interventions using appropriate information, techniques and measures.
Use nutritional analysis programs to analyse food intake, records and recipes and interpret the results.
Use statistical, epidemiological, and research skills to gather and interpret evidence to make reasoned conclusions and judgements to enhance dietetic practice.
Choose the most appropriate strategy to influence nutritional behaviour and choice.
Undertake and explain dietetic interventions, having regard to current knowledge and evidence-based practice.
Advise on safe procedures for food preparation and handling and any effect on nutritional quality.
Advise on the effect of food processing on nutritional quality.
Advise on menu planning, taking account of food preparation and processing, nutritional standards and requirements of service users.
Interpret nutritional information including food labels which may have nutritional or clinical implications.
Demonstrate awareness of relevant health and safety legislation and comply with all local operational procedures and policies.
Work safely, including being able to select appropriate hazard control and risk management, reduction or elimination techniques in a safe manner and in accordance with health and safety legislation.
Select appropriate personal protective equipment and use it correctly.
Establish safe environments for practice, which appropriately manages risk.
Empower and enable individuals, including service users and colleagues, to play a part in managing their own health.
Engage in occupational health, including being aware of immunisation requirements.

Behaviours 6

Have courage to challenge areas of concern.
Have an enquiring attitude and willingness to share knowledge with others.
Have empathy, commitment, compassion and respect.
Be adaptable, flexible and resilient.
Act in a non-discriminatory manner, respect and uphold the rights, dignity, values, and autonomy of others.
Practice sustainability by focusing on reducing the environmental impacts on the workplace.

Live vacancies

No live vacancies for this course as of 2026-07-24 — new adverts appear on Find an apprenticeship daily, and many degree apprenticeship employers recruit on their own careers sites instead.

Universities registered to deliver it

6 universities are on the government provider register for this standard. Registration means they can deliver it — live vacancies depend on employer partnerships each recruitment cycle.

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Official sources

Occupational summary, duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours reproduced from the ST0599 apprenticeship standard (last updated 2026-03-25) — contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Always check the official page before applying: standards get revised.