Dear Other Dietitians -
Why are you so mean???? Why do I feel so insecure around you? I feel like there is this competition as to who can be the most professional, quote the most recent studies and say the phrase "evidence based" the most often. It's true that we fight against anonymity in the medical world and that very few of us are recognized by other colleagues in clinical settings, but shouldn't we help each other? Shouldn't we build each other up and support each other and UNIFY as we convince the world of how important we are?
When I worked in the hospital, people thought I was the social worker. I wasn't assertive enough to make sure doctors and nurses knew what I was doing all the time. I built some relationships, but that's challenging in a clinical setting.
There seems to be a hierarchy of RDs in the world. The most respected are the ones seem to be the ones who work in the NICU or the ICU doing parenteral and enteral feeding calculations. WIC and other community RDs are at the bottom of the rung. I'm sorry, I didn't like the clinical side! I'd rather keep people healthy than treat them in the hospital. Plus all I did was CRUNCH NUMBERS! Please judge me and make me feel like I couldn't cut it in the "real world." Now I'm dealing with the RDs who work with people with eating disorders. Most of these people have recovered from or are currently dealing with their personal disordered eating and are trying to "out-empathize" each other. Who's the most understanding? Who can deal with and connect to the widest variety of clients?
And then there's all the "research" out there. We claim to be the experts on food and nutrition. We're supposed to know how food effects the body under all circumstances. Our position is untenable. Western medicine does not know everything about the body and it does not know everything about food. I entered this field looking for answers and I was taught the currently accepted theories of our time. We get more information and misinformation every day. Our industry is very much at the mercy of the government and the food and drug industry. Studies that seem legitimate are contradicted by other studies. Food beliefs and practices inspire what amounts to a religious fervor. Who do you believe in? Are you a disciple of the ADA, the AADE, the ACS, the academy, the ABIM, (fill in your information source of choice)?
Am I the only one who is lost here? I feel like I'm trying to help clients navigate through a world of conflicting health messages without a map. It's us versus the industry, the current body of accepted research, other health care professionals (including RDs) and the world!
We made our own obesi-heart diseaseabetes epidemic. We need to unify, admit that we don't know everything, commit to what we do know and START BEING NICE TO EACH OTHER!
Love,
Me, RD, LD, CDE
