The ethics and law for registered dietitians

Abstract

Recently, there have been increasing opportunities for registered dietitians to work for hospitals. These working in hospitals is called the medical profession. A profession is meant to convey the depth of their knowledge or skills to the public. Therefore, in naming registered dietitians as professional means they should convey their knowledge about food, nutrition, clinical nutrition, cooking, and share their educational skill of counseling. I look back at the history of medical doctors and nurses as our predecessors. I show the law concerning the medical facilities and medical professions which dietitians should understand. I also give an outline of the code of ethics approved by the American Dietetic Association. The following should be considered within the medical professions, including dietitians, they should adhere to such as; doing the best for patients, not abuse their professional power with patients, respect patient's confidentiality, and receive informed consents from the patients.