Dietary or Nutrition service managers are in great demand right now. If you’re passionate about well-being and nutrition and you have always gravitated towards the healthcare industry, then this might be a great career path for you. In this article, we’re going to give you a brief description of your position as a nutrition services manager, the job prospects, formation needed, and salary.
How Much are Nutrition Services Manager Paid?
According to data from the BLS, Dietary services managers involved in clinical nutrition make on average $53,500 per year or an hourly wage of roughly $25.72 per hour. When it comes to major healthcare facilities or surgical hospitals, wages are significantly higher. Nutrition services managers make on average $73,470 per year in these positions, but salaries can be as high $79,970 for specialty hospitals.
What will be my Responsibilities as a Nutrition Services Manager?
As a nutrition services manager, you will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating food services in the hospital. You will also be in charge of overseeing menus, purchasing, and budgeting as well. You will also be tasked with hiring new staff and overseeing their formation. As a nutrition manager, you will responsible for buying new equipment, performing health and safety inspections, doing inventory, apply disciplinary measures, organize schedules, and auditing special menus for patients with specific needs, among other things.
What Skills are Needed?
One of the most important skills you’ll need as a nutrition services manager is organizational skills. Since you’ll be managing large teams and will have to deal with many administrative tasks as well, being well organized is a must. You’ll also need good communication skills since you’ll have to create a good working environment for your employees. You’ll also have to know how to defuse conflicts. You’ll also need some clinical skills so you’ll be able to evaluate patient nutritional needs and make the proper adjustments.
What Kind of Formation will you Need?
If you want to land a nutritional service manager position, you will usually have to seek a post-graduate education. Most of the time, you’ll have to gain a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, health administration, dietetics, food service management or any other closely related field. You could also go the extra mile and get an online masters in health administration in addition to a dietetics or nutrition degree. People with an online EMHA degree have more chances of landing a well-paid position since they have a better understanding of the budgeting aspect of nutritional services in the healthcare sector.
Conclusion
The field of nutrition service management is very vibrant and offers tons of possibilities. If you have a knack for nutrition and healthy living and would like to have a say on the nutrition value and general well-being of patients, then nutrition service management is the right choice for you. It is also a great choice for people who have a genuine passion for food but who would like to get higher salaries than those reserved for line cooks.
