Registered, licensed dietitians in
Tennessee are referred to as licensed dietitian/nutritionists, or LDNs. The Tennessee Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (TAND), an affiliate of the national Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, represents nutrition professionals in Tennessee who are dedicated to improving the health of Tennessee residents and advancing the dietetic profession. There are seven districts within TAND: Chattanooga, Tri-Cities, Knoxville, Upper Cumberland, Memphis, West Tennessee, and Nashville. Dietitians working within each of these districts face unique challenges, depending upon the demographics of their district.
Becoming a registered, licensed dietitian in Tennessee requires meeting strict educational standards, logging experience, and passing a certification examination. For more information on how you can be a registered, licensed dietitian in the state of Tennessee, keep reading.
Standards of Education and Experience for Tennessee Dietitians
The Rules of the Board of Dietitian/Nutritionist Examiners specifies that anyone who wants to work as a dietitian/nutritionist must complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition, food and nutrition, food systems management, or dietetics, or an equal course of study. Additionally, they must complete at least 900 hours of a planned, continuous paraprofessional experience in nutrition practice, and pass the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s (CDR) Registration Examination for Dietitians.
In practice, to meet the CDR’s requirements to take the exam, as of January 1, 2024 you will need a minimum of a master’s degree. Their experience requirement differs just a bit as well, requiring 1000 hours of a planned, continuous paraprofessional experience in nutrition practice, before you will be eligible to sit for the CDR’s Registration Examination for Dietitians.
Your degree must be from a school holding accreditation thorugh the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). A variety of programs are accredited, in various formats, such as:
- Graduate Program (GP) – This format combines nutrition coursework with the requisite 1000 hours of planned, continuous paraprofessional experience in nutrition practice, culminating in a graduate degree. As of October 2022, there are three GPs in Tennessee.
- Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)- This format fulfills just the didactic, coursework portion of the requirement. There are 9 DPDs in Tennessee.
- Dietetic Internship (DI)- If you take a DPD, you must follow that up with a DI, which consists of 1000 hours of planned, continuous paraprofessional experience in nutrition practice. There are 8 DIs in Tennessee.
Certification through the Registration Examination for Tennessee Dietitians
Next, you must pass the CDR’s Registration Examination for Dietitians. Check out the Registration Examination for Dietitians Handbook for Candidates for information on registering for and taking the examination. Register online at the Pearson VUE website and pay your examination fees of $200. Pearson VUE testing centers in Tennessee include Brentwood, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville.
Passing the exam means that you are now a registered dietitian, but you have not become licensed yet. That is the crucial next step you must now undertake.
Becoming a Registered, Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist in Tennessee
You must apply online for licensure as a dietitian/nutritionist in Tennessee. Use the Tennessee Department of Health online portal to do so. You will be asked to submit a passport-style photo of yourself, have official transcripts sent from your schools, submit verification of your supervised dietetic experience, a notarized copy of your CDR card, a letter of recommendation, and $140 for the application/licensure fee. Mail everything to Board of Dietitian/Nutritionist Examiners, 665 Mainstream Drive, 2nd Floor, Nashville, TN 37243. You must also submit a Criminal Background Check, the Mandatory Practitioner Profile, and the Declaration of Citizenship form. For complete information on the process of filing an application, read this document. Application processing time averages three weeks.
Licenses are renewed every two years in Tennessee. You need not fulfill any continuing education requirements. However, you must still fulfill the CDR’s requirements of 75 hours of continuing education every five years in order to maintain registration.
Tennessee Dietitian Salaries
The annual median wage for dietitians in Tennessee is $58,550 as of May 2021, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This corresponds to an hourly median wage of $28.15. Salaries vary depending upon in which part of Tennessee you practice, as you can see from the table below:
| Metropolitan area | Hourly median wage | Annual median wage |
| Johnson City | $28.86 | $60,020 |
| Clarksville | $28.54 | $59,370 |
| Memphis | $28.54 | $59,370 |
| Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro/Franklin | $28.52 | $59,320 |
| Kingsport/Bristol | $27.75 | $57,720 |
| Knoxville | $24.05 | $50,020 |
| Chattanooga | $23.29 | $48,450 |
| West nonmetropolitan area | $22.90 | $47,630 |
| North Central nonmetropolitan area | $22.55 | $46,900 |
Dietitian Employment in Tennessee
Registered dietitians in Tennessee should have no difficulty in finding employment, if this sample of available jobs circa October 2022 taken from the online classifieds is any indication:
- Clinical Dietitian – Delta Specialty Hospital, Memphis
- Salary: $38 per hour
- Must be a RDN through CDR
- Must be licensed through Tennessee Board of Dietitians/Nutritionist Examiners
- Clinical Dietitian I – St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis
- Salary: $60,600 to $76,800 per year
- Must have a bachelor’s degree
- Experience in pediatrics and/or oncology preferred
- Must be a RDN through CDR
- Must be licensed through Tennessee Board of Dietitians/Nutritionist Examiners
- Clinical Dietitian – Maury Regional Health, Columbia
- Salary: $21.82 to $40.86 per hour
- Must have a bachelor’s degree
- One year of dietetics experience preferred
- Must be a RDN through CDR
- Must be licensed through Tennessee Board of Dietitians/Nutritionist Examiners
- Regional Dietitian – Plainview Healthcare Partners, Nashville
- Salary: $46,300 to $58,700 per year
- Must have a bachelor’s degree
- Experience in long term skilled nursing care facilities preferred
- Must be a RDN through CDR
- Must be licensed through Tennessee Board of Dietitians/Nutritionist Examiners
- Nutritionist – University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville
- Salary: $52,600 to $66,600 per year
- Must have at least a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree preferred
- Must be a RDN through CDR
- Must be licensed through Tennessee Board of Dietitians/Nutritionist Examiners
- Must be certified as a Nutrition Support Clinician by the National Board of Nutrition Support Certifications, Inc.