About Academy Membership

Benefits

Awards and Recognition

Foundation programs and funding opportunities available to Academy members include scholarships, awards, fellowships, research grants, and disaster relief funding, while the Academy offers its National Honors and Awards program its Fellow (FAND) program. Foundation opportunities for Academy members include:

• Scholarships - opportunities for students at all levels of study ($500 - $25,000 in value).
• Awards - including recognition, continuing education, program development, and international awards ($150 - $30,000 in value).
• Research Grants - opportunities to obtain funding for research that elevates the profession ($1,000 - $20,000 in value).
• Disaster Relief Funding - available to Academy members affected by FEMA-declared disasters (applicants may request up to $2,500 in value for personal rebuilding efforts and up to $500 in value for professional and continuing education activities).
• Fellowship Opportunities - opportunities to help the Foundation address the greatest food and nutrition challenges now and in the future.

Career Building

Academy membership provides access to a variety of resources that help take your career to the next level at any stage — from student to seasoned professional.

• Compensation and Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession: A comprehensive electronic report detailing compensation for dozens of core RDN and NDTR jobs, segmented by region, education, experience, supervisory responsibility and much more.
• Salary Calculators: In addition, the online interactive salary calculators offers users an estimate of what practitioners with similar characteristics and in similar situations earn. These essential resources are free to members.
• EatRight Careers: The Academy's online job board allows you to post your résumé, target your search by specialty or geographic location, respond directly to employer job listings and receive e-mail alerts about new positions — all for free. When recruiting practitioners for your own organization, Academy members receive preferred pricing.
• Find a Nutrition Expert: The Academy's online referral service is free for any Active category member representing their own private practice, group practice or employer. Consumers and businesses search this site often to connect with members who provide expertise in food and nutrition.

Educational Opportunities

The Academy offers an impressive array of resources to cultivate your skills through multi-disciplinary learning opportunities and enhanced technology. Select from a variety of free and member-priced resources to best fit your professional development needs. Academy members enjoy significant discounts on educational products and programs.

• Distance Learning: Learn at your own pace and convenience through various online CPE offerings such as live webinars and recorded webinars discounted for Academy members, free self-study modules, and the Certificate of Training program. Additionally, FNCE^® recorded sessions offers discounted member access to complete recordings of educational sessions, available to view for both group and individual learning, and FNCE^® Collections provide convenient bundles of FNCE^® sessions curated by topic.
• Nutrition Focused Physical Exam Training Workshop: The Academy offers a nutrition focused physical exam training workshop designed to provide RDNs with the skills to perform a nutrition focused physical exam, empowering the RDN to accurately identify patients with malnutrition. By attending a live, highly interactive workshop, you will learn to: recognize the role of NFPE in identifying malnutrition; assess muscle wasting and fat loss; identify clinical signs of micronutrient deficiencies and toxicities; evaluate the presence of edema or fluid accumulation; and demonstrate basic NFPE skills.
• Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo^®: The Academy's annual conference is the world's largest educational program and exhibition for food and nutrition experts. Members enjoy reduced registration rates, earn CPE, build professional relationships, mingle with colleagues and browse the latest products and services. FNCE^® features advanced-level education on the hottest topics, challenges, controversies and breakthroughs in the profession. Virtual and on-demand options make FNCE^® more accessible than ever.
• Journal CPE: Take advantage of 24 free CPE credits annually in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Access quizzes online and automatically log CPE credit to your Professional Development Portfolio.
• Online Certificate of Training Programs: The Certificate of Training program consists of multiple cohesive modules that provide in-depth instruction on broad areas of interest in the realm of nutrition and dietetics, with the goal of expanding knowledge, skills and/or competencies. Each program offers 8 to 12.5 hours of CPE units and comes with a certificate that can be framed and displayed in your home or office. Recently released programs include Treating Gluten Related Diseases, Diabetes, and Chronic Kidney Disease.
• eatrightPREP™: This updated, comprehensive and convenient resource for students and educators includes an exam study plan (for the RD Exam or for DTR Exam) with more than 1300 test questions, 450-plus flashcards and unlimited access to six full-length practice exams (updated per CDR's latest test specifications). Personalized performance statistics target strengths and weaknesses in exam content. Individual and group pricing is available with reduced costs for Academy members and free previews are available to educators and program directors.
• Leadership Institute: Leadership Institute is a comprehensive professional development program designed to help current and future leaders in nutrition, health and wellness to develop a range of leadership, communication and career development skills, including executive presence, project management and decision- making, interpersonal communication, strategic planning and team building. Through a combination of self-directed study, in-person training, networking opportunities, small group projects and virtual learning, participants will gain hands-on experience to become more effective leaders.

Networking

The Academy is an active community of professionals sharing knowledge, skills and ideas. Get ahead by connecting with practitioners in your specialty area or from other food and nutrition fields.

• Affiliates of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - Your state-level association sponsors local education programs, networking opportunities, scholarship fundraising efforts and more. Membership in an affiliate is included in your Academy membership.
• Dietetic Practice Groups - Join one or more of the Academy's professional interest groups and enhance your specialized knowledge, share practice tips and establish relationships with colleagues from all over the world.
• eMentoring - Free and open to all members, the Academy's online Mentor Match program will match you with a mentor or mentee who best fits your professional areas of interest, communication style and availability.
• Member Interest Groups - Find members with common interests, issues or backgrounds by joining one of the Academy's MIGs, focusing on areas other than practice or geographic location.
• Nutrition and Dietetics Educators and Preceptors - This Academy group addresses the broad needs of the dietetics education community. Join NDEP and help educators and preceptors move nutrition and dietetics forward.
• Social Media - Get updates via your favorite social media platforms and join the conversation by becoming a part of the Academy's social network. “Like” one or more of our Facebook pages; follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest; join our member-only group and follow the Academy’s company page on LinkedIn; and subscribe to our eatrightTV, KidsEatRight and eatrightPROtv YouTube channels.

Policy Initiatives and Advocacy

The Academy’s office in Washington, D.C. advocates for better nutrition policies, represents your interests in legislative and regulatory issues and promotes you as the leading source of food and nutrition information.

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Political Action Committee - Among health care political action committees, ANDPAC is the only one dedicated exclusively to food, nutrition and health issues. Funded entirely by voluntary contributions, ANDPAC is anon-partisan entity that supports pro-nutrition candidates for federal office. In addition, it provides the Academy the ability to work with candidates and Congress to advance the Academy’s public policy priorities and raise our members’ profiles.
• Advocacy Training - Academy membership gives members access to educational advocacy resources on cutting-edge public policy issues. You can also access tools and training to help you effectively communicate with elected officials about the policy issues that matter most to you.
• Enhancing Your Voice in State Capitals - The Academy works closely with state affiliates and state public policy panels to coordinate legislative and regulatory strategies for a variety of timely issues. These issues include consumer protection and state licensure, implementation of health care reform and enhanced coverage for RDN-provided nutrition care services.
• Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit - Formerly known as the Public Policy Workshop, the Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit brings together hundreds of food and nutrition advocates in our nation's capital to sharpen their communication skills, take a deep-dive into key policy issues that impact the health of the nation and the dietetics profession, and develop new high-level personal and professional relationships.
• Policy Initiatives and Advocacy - The Academy’s PIA leaders provide a link between you, Congress and government agencies. Public policy teams in both the state affiliates and dietetic practice groups are in place to discuss current and upcoming policy issues specific to your area of expertise.

Practice, Science and Quality

The Academy is dedicated to setting the direction for the profession of nutrition and dietetics through practice, science and quality.

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure - This online tool is designed to guide dietetics practitioners through each step of the Nutrition Care Process while building a national quality improvement database with patient outcomes. In addition, it offers customizable charts, reports and visit summaries.
• Code of Ethics for the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession - The Academy and its Commission on Dietetic Registration believe it is in the best interest of the profession—and the public it serves—to have a Code of Ethics that guides professional practice and conduct. The updated Code of Ethics recognizes the changes in nutrition and dietetics practice and is responsive to trends related to digital health care, social media and the evolving use of other technologies.
  Definition of Terms - The Academy Definition of Terms List is a resource that houses terms, definitions, and key considerations to support the profession of nutrition and dietetics. The terms and definitions are used in a variety of ways including organization requirements, public policy development, regulations related to professional licensure, and as needed by academia, research, professional publications, employers, industry, and practitioners and members. As a reference document, the definitions serve as standardized language for consistent application in practice settings and Academy documents. The Definition of Terms webpage also includes a webinar, article, policy and form to suggest a new term or modification to an existing term.
• Evidence Analysis Library^® - The Evidence Analysis Library is a synthesis of the best, most relevant nutritional research on important dietetic practice questions housed within an accessible, online, user-friendly website. With over 40 systematic review topics and 20 evidence-based nutrition practice guidelines, the EAL® is free for Academy members.
• Malnutrition Quality Improvement Initiative (MQii) - The MQii is a project of the Academy, Avalere Health, and other stakeholders who provide expert input through a nation-wide collaborative partnership. This Academy initiative encompasses several work streams to advance evidence-based, high-quality malnutrition care for patients who are malnourished or at-risk for malnutrition. The Academy as measure steward and developer supports RDN participation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality payment incentive programs. The Global Malnutrition Composite Score (Composite Measure) promotes appropriate screening, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention with development of a care plan for malnourished adults. Together with the MQii Toolkit, the Learning Collaborative, a community of hospitals and health systems, use these tools and resources to transform quality standards and performance of malnutrition delivery through shared learning of real-world approaches, best practices and data to identify remaining care gaps, reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.
• Nutrition Care Process (NCP) - Assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and monitoring and evaluation-is the NCP, a systematic multidirectional approach to support critical thinking and timely high-quality nutrition care using the best available evidence. The RDN makes decisions when addressing medical nutrition therapy and providing nutrition-related services.
• Nutrition Research Network - Make your practice part of meaningful nutrition and dietetics research. This network brings practitioners and researchers together to identify and design research for real-world practice settings. NRN is open to all Academy members and no research experience is required to participate.
• Nutrition Services Coverage - The Academy assists members by providing tools and resources to be successful at delivering high quality nutrition services and getting paid. Whether it is public or private payers, tools are available to market and support the business case for services provided by RDNs and NDTRs; understand changes in health care delivery and payment; and address essential information for compliance, business operations and coding, billing and payment for nutrition services.
• Position Papers -Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' position papers are critical analyses of current facts, data and research literature on a specific issue. A key feature of the paper is the position statement, which presents the Academy’s stance on the specific issue that impacts the public's nutritional status and is controversial, confusing, or requires professional clarification. As of 2019, all Academy position papers will be generated from EAL systematic reviews.
• Scope of Practice - The Academy has designed resources to help members understand and describe the Scope of Practice for credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners, including the Revised 2017 Scope of Practice for the RDN; Revised 2017 Scope of Practice for the NDTR; Scope of Practice Decision Algorithm, Learning Modules where practitioners can earn CPEU, and Brochure. Scope of Practice in nutrition and dietetics encompasses the range of roles, activities and regulations within which practitioners perform.
• Standards of Practice (SOP) and Standards of Professional Performance (SOPP) - The Academy offers SOP and SOPP articles and resources to help RDNs and NDTRs assess their individual performance needs. These tools describe competent levels of practice related to nutrition and dietetics care and services. They also serve as guides for self-evaluation and practice advancement, and although not regulations, they can be used by regulatory agencies to determine competence for credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners. In addition to the Revised 2017 SOP in Nutrition Care and SOPP for RDNs and Revised 2017 SOP in Nutrition Care and SOPP for NDTRs and Learning Modules, there are 17 focus area SOP and/or SOPP for RDNs on topics such as nutrition in integrative and functional medicine, diabetes care, eating disorders, and education of nutrition and dietetics practitioners.
• Telehealth - The Academy's telehealth practice resources include practice tips; information on policy, regulation, and payment; and guidance on technology and telehealth documentation.

Publications and Subscriptions

Academy membership includes subscriptions to peer-reviewed and award-winning publications. In addition, members receive preferred pricing on scientific and practical information resources in print, electronic and web-based formats.

• Books and Resources - A range of books and resources, including professional reference books, textbooks, pocket guides, client education materials, and consumer books, are available for purchase in the eatrightSTORE. All Academy-published materials are written and reviewed by RDNs, NDTRs, and other health professionals. Academy members receive a 20-30% discount off retail price on most publications. Many books and resources are also available as eBooks. Download the free eatright eReader app, purchase the eBook in the eatrightSTORE, and then access the eBook version using the eReader app. Academy eBooks include the research- and evidence-based content found in our print publications, plus the ability to add bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
• Eat Right Weekly - A weekly e-newsletter providing members with ready access to career resources, research briefs, CPE opportunities, Academy updates, policy information, advocacy issues and a variety of other news.
• electronic Nutrition Care Process Terminology (eNCPT) - The electronic Nutrition Care Process Terminology is an online publication containing the most current terminology used in nutrition care and a narrative explanations of the Nutrition Care Process. eNCPT subscribers also have access to term definitions, application resources for each term, matrices for PES statement development and the EHR Toolkit 2.0. The terminology is available in English, Spanish, Swedish, German, Norwegian, Danish, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), French and Portuguese. Preferred pricing is available for Academy members.
• Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - The Academy's flagship publication is the premier source for information on the practice and science of food, nutrition and dietetics. The monthly, peer-reviewed Journal presents original articles prepared by researchers and practitioners, offers free CPE opportunities and is the most widely read professional publication in the field. The Journal, a hybrid access journal offering subscription and open access content, features web-based archives dating back to the first Journal issue in 1925, online articles ahead of print, as well as exclusive online material, including Topic Collections, educational PowerPoint slides for selected articles, audio and video podcasts and much more.
• MNT Provider - This member newsletter is one of the Academy's essential practice management resources and includes articles on topics such as billing, coding and coverage, practice and business management, changes in health care delivery and payment, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance reimbursement.
• Nutrition Care Manual^® Products - Nutrition Care Manual^®Products are comprehensive online diet manuals and professional practice resources for RDNs, NDTRs, allied health professionals, and healthcare facilities. The manuals are purchased by annual subscription with preferred pricing for Academy members.
  • Nutrition Care Manual^® - Created and peer-reviewed by specialty experts, the NCM^® contains information and resources for over 200 conditions. Features include a customizable diet manual, client education handouts, menu customization and analysis, calculators and much more.
  • Pediatric Nutrition Care Manual^® - PNCM^® covers over 150 major topics, including normal nutrition for all pediatric life stages, food allergies, nutrition support, neonatal care, developmental disabilities and weight management.
  • Sports Nutrition Care Manual^® - SNCM^® provides easy access to research-based sports nutrition information on many topics such as vegetarian athletes, managing weight, hydration, meal-planning, and nutrition for injury recovery and rehabilitation.
• SmartBrief - The Academy works with Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief to provide members with the most relevant news in food and nutrition by curating news from major media outlets, regional newspapers, trade publications and blogs. Two days each week, the brief includes a journal review linking to emerging research, systematic reviews and case studies. NOTE: News and editorial content for this brief is curated by SmartBrief editors and is not selected by the Academy, with the exception of the Academy News section. Opinions expressed in Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief are those of the identified authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Academy. The Academy is not responsible for the content of sites that are external to the Academy. The Academy does not endorseany products, services or advertisers including any organizations included in Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief. Linking to a website does not constitute an endorsement by the Academy of the sponsors or advertisers of the site or the information presented on the site.
• Student Scoop - Student Scoop is the Academy's exclusive student member e-newsletter. Discover what students are doing to gain nutrition and dietetics experience, read about preparing for internships, and learn about member benefits available to you.

Discounts on Products and Services

Take advantage of even more benefits, such as discounts on professional resources and insurance.

• Academy Credit Card - Apply for the Academy Elan™ World MasterCard® Real Rewards Card and take advantage of competitive interest rates and rewards points. Card subject to approval.
• Professional and Personal Insurance Discounts - Administered by Association Member Benefits Advisors (AMBA), Academy members have access to professional liability insurance available for private practice or traditional employment at reduced member rates that protect against claims arising from real or alleged errors or omissions in the course of professional duties. Members also have access to exclusive savings on auto, home, long-term care, pet and other personal insurance products.

Access to benefits may vary based on membership category. Contact us with any questions.