DIETETICS AND HUMAN NUTRITION

FACULTY	Faculty of Medical-Natural-Technical Sciences
LEVEL OF STUDY	first-cycle programme (bachelor’s degree studies)
MODE OF STUDY	full-time and part-time
DURATION	3 years (6 semesters)
PROFILE	practical
FIELDS OF STUDY RELEVANT TO LEARNING OUTCOMES	medical sciences, health sciences, agricultural sciences
SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES RELEVANT TO LEARNING OUTCOMES	health sciences (leading discipline), nutrition and food technology
DEGREE AWARDED TO GRADUATES	bachelor’s degree

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

Graduates holding a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics and Human Nutrition are equipped with detailed knowledge of human nutrition and food preparation technology. They can design and prepare dishes that constitute the core of different dietary regimes, according to the binding classification. They have the ability to define the rules of selection of food products to plan and evaluate menus for various population groups. Graduating students are also capable of creating menus on their own based on the classification and rules of the System of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

LIST OF MODULES

1. DIETETICS IN RECREATION, BIOLOGICAL RENEWAL AND SPORT

   Graduates are familiar with the nutrition principles for sportsmen and people with increased physical activity. They have the awareness of how physical effort and biological renewal treatments influence particular body systems (circulatory, respiratory, muscular, nervous and digestive). They are capable of providing dietary recommendations relevant to the physical effort involved. Graduating students possess the knowledge and skills related to the principles of health promoting workout. They can provide dietetic counselling and develop menus for different groups of sportspeople, depending on the discipline represented and the training programme. Graduates also have familiarity with the classification of sport-induced injuries and are able to design a diet regime for convalescents recovering from such incidents.

2. DIETETICS AND HEALTH PROMOTION

   Choosing this module, students gain the ability to assess the mutual influence of pharmacotherapy and nutrition on the human body. They can also define the role of nutritive components and drugs in its functioning. They can apply the standards of energy and nutrients requirements, depending on individual professional activity.
   Graduates also develop competencies related to organising and supervising individual and collective nutrition appropriately to the age and health state of patients. They can apply diets based on natural and therapeutic foods as well as on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses in treating different eating disorders and illnesses related to or resulting from malnutrition, and others. Students gain basic knowledge of exercise physiology and they can adopt diets depending on individual differences in body build and physiological predisposition. They are ready to take active steps in promoting health and healthy eating. Students are trained to conduct nutritional education programmes addressed to different age groups. They also develop the ability to implement the principles of a healthy lifestyle and to design dietary regimes for people with varied physical activity.

3. FOOD TECHNOLOGY AND NUTRITION TECHNIQUES

   Students who opt for this module gain the knowledge and skills necessary for monitoring and controlling the accuracy of the technological processes on all levels of production of dishes and food products in line with HACCP guidelines. They are trained to control the quality of ingredients and foodstuffs as well as their storage conditions. They know about all the basic operations and processes of food production, and are familiar with methods and equipment used for testing basic physical, chemical and physicochemical properties of food. Students also receive training in identifying threats to the quality and safety of the food chain and human nutrition. Graduates are well prepared to implement quality assurance, work safety and production management systems.

4. FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND HERBS IN PROPHYLAXIS AND TREATMENT

   Choosing this module, students are trained to identify wild and cultivated herbs, and learn how to prepare and store them in appropriate conditions. They gain knowledge of non-dietary application of herbs as well as of the origin, sources, production and use of functional food. Graduates have the ability to design a menu for both a healthy and sick person, they can provide diet and treatment recommendations, and prepare dishes based on nutritional properties of herbs and functional food products. They develop the awareness of herbs’ role in the environment, health care and economy. Graduating students are also capable of using herbs in different types of human activity as well as to design and conduct hortitherapy and naturotherapy classes.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

As a dietician, you can find employment in:

• dietetic counselling offices
• nutrition units in hospitals, sanatoriums, nursing homes, day care centres, health resorts
• education centres (schools, kindergartens, nurseries)
• specialist clinics (i.e. gastroenterology, metabolic diseases)
• mass catering establishments (restaurants, canteens, catering companies including those providing dietary catering services)
• food and pharmaceutical companies
• scientific, research and technological institutes dealing with food science and nutrition
• dietetic counselling offices in fitness clubs, gyms, and sports clubs (depending on additional qualifications)

You will also be able to become independent and operate your own business.

WHY STUDY DIETETICS AND HUMAN NUTRITION?

• You will find a job easily - due to deteriorating lifestyle and way of eating, as well as increased incidence of diet-related diseases, there is an ever growing demand for the services of professional nutritionists and dieticians.
• Being a dietician is a satisfying job. It enables you to combine professional career with helping others in health-promoting lifestyle changes.
• More than 50% of the curriculum is made up of practical training under the supervision of professional staff, i.e. in hospitals, outpatient clinics as well as specialist food and nutrition clinics.

All the lectures and classes at PUSB are run by experienced university teachers with an extensive professional practice. Most of the teaching staff working in the Institute of Health Sciences are lecturers representing The Medical University of Lodz, The Medical University of Warsaw, Food and Nutrition Institute in Warsaw, and The Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice.