54-3502. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:

(1) "Academy of nutrition and dietetics" means the national organization that credentials dietetics professionals and accredits undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare dietetics professionals.

(2) "Accreditation council for education in nutrition and dietetics" or "ACEND" means the accrediting organization of the academy of nutrition and dietetics that is recognized by the United States department of education as the accrediting agency for education programs that prepare dietetics professionals.

(3) "Board" means the Idaho state board of medicine.

(4) "Commission on dietetic registration" or "CDR" means the credentialing organization of the academy of nutrition and dietetics that awards and administers credentials to individuals at entry, specialist and advanced levels who have met CDR’s specified criteria to practice in the dietetics profession, including successful completion of its national accredited certification examination and recertification by continuing professional education and/or examination.

(5) "Dietetics" means the integration, application and communication of principles derived from food, nutrition, social, business and basic sciences to achieve and maintain optimal nutrition status of individuals through the development, provision and management of effective food and nutrition services in a variety of settings.

(6) "Dietitian" means a person licensed under the provisions of this chapter as a licensed dietitian (LD) who:

(a) Is trained in the science of nutrition and dietetics and who has met current minimum academic requirements with successful completion of specified didactic education and supervised practice experiences through programs accredited by ACEND or a similar agency approved by the board with substantially equivalent educational requirements; and

(b) Has successfully completed the registration examination for dietitians administered by the CDR or a similar agency approved by the board with a substantially equivalent examination and has been granted and maintains the title registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).

(7) "Evidence-based dietetics practice" means the process of asking questions, systematically finding research evidence and assessing its validity, applicability and importance to food and nutrition practice decisions, including the application of relevant evidence in the context of the practice situation and the values of clients, customers and communities to achieve positive outcomes.

(8) "Licensure board" means the dietetic licensure board established by this chapter.

(9) "Medical nutrition therapy" or "MNT" means an evidence-based application of the nutrition care process. The provision of MNT to a patient/client may include one (1) or more of the following: nutrition assessment or reassessment, nutrition diagnosis, and nutrition intervention for the prevention, delay or management of diseases or conditions.

(10) "Nutrition care process" means a systematic approach to providing high-quality nutrition care that consists of four (4) distinct, interrelated steps:

(a) Nutrition assessment, which means a systematic method for obtaining, verifying and interpreting data needed to identify nutrition-related problems, their causes and their significance;

(b) Nutrition diagnosis, which means the identification of a specific nutrition problem that a dietitian is responsible for treating independently;

(c) Nutrition intervention, which means a purposefully planned action intended to positively change a nutrition-related behavior, environmental condition or aspect of health status for the patient/client and family or caregivers, target group or the community at large; and

(d) Nutrition monitoring and evaluation, in which:

(i) Nutrition monitoring means the preplanned review and measurement of selected nutrition care indicators of the patient/client’s status relevant to the defined needs, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention and outcomes; and

(ii) Nutrition evaluation means the systematic comparison of current findings with the previous status, nutrition intervention goals, effectiveness of overall nutrition care or comparison to a reference standard.

(11) "Provisionally licensed dietitian" means a person provisionally licensed under the provisions of this chapter.

History:

[54-3502, added 1994, ch. 217, sec. 1, p. 674; am. 2017, ch. 294, sec. 1, p. 776.]