The primary role of a clinical dietician is to design nutrition programs to improve or maintain the health of patients. These programs may be short-term, such as to ensure that proper nutrition is delivered to an accident victim until full healing has occurred. Or they may be long-term for patients with diabetes, kidney disease or old age conditions that affect proper nutrition. The programs designed may be preventive, for heart disease or obesity, or therapeutic to help a patient with heart disease maintain a baseline health and nutrition state.
Acadia University, Mount Saint Vincent, NS Health Authority and Dalhousie University offer programs.