from the association
American Dietetic Association: Revised Standards of
Practice and Standards of Professional Performance
for Registered Dietitians (Generalist, Specialty, and
Advanced) in Oncology Nutrition Care
Kim Robien, PhD, RD, CSO, LD, FADA; Lori Bechard, MEd, RD, LDN; Laura Elliott, MPH, RD, CSO, LD;
Nicole Fox, RD, LMNT; Rhone Levin, MEd, RD, CSO, LDN; Sarah Washburn, MS, RD, CSO
Editor’s note: Figures 1, 2, and 3 that
accompany this article are available
online at www.adajournal.org.
T
he Oncology Nutrition Dietetic
Practice Group (ON DPG) of the
American Dietetic Association
(ADA), under the guidance of the
ADA Quality Management Commit-
tee and Scope of Dietetics Practice
Framework Sub-committee, has re-
vised the Standards of Practice (SOP)
and Standards of Professional Perfor-
mance (SOPP) for Registered Dieti-
tians (RDs) in Oncology Nutrition
Care (see the Web site exclusive Fig-
ures 1, 2, and 3 at www.adajournal.
org). The SOP and SOPP for RDs in
Oncology Nutrition Care were origi-
nally published in 2006 (1), and were
scheduled for periodic review and re-
vision. The revised documents reflect
advances in oncology nutrition prac-
tice during the past 3 years, including
completion of the ADA Oncology Nu-
trition Evidence Analysis Project, the
ADA Oncology Evidence-Based Nutri-
tion Practice Guideline, and the de-
velopment of the Board Certification
in Oncology Nutrition by the Commis-
sion on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
The revised standards replace the
2006 standards. The revised docu-
ments build on the ADA Revised 2008
SOP for RDs in Nutrition Care and
SOPP for RDs (2). ADA’s Code of Eth-
ics (3) and the Revised 2008 SOP in
Nutrition Care and SOPP for RDs (2)
are decision tools within the Scope of
Dietetics Practice Framework (4) that
guide the practice and performance of
RDs in all settings.
The concept of scope of practice is
fluid (5), changing in response to the
expansion of knowledge, the health
care environment, and technology. An
RD’s legal scope of practice is defined
by state legislation (eg, state licen-
sure law) and will differ from state to
state. An RD may determine his or
her own individual scope of practice
using the Scope of Dietetics Practice
Framework (4), which takes into ac-
count federal regulations; state laws;
institutional policies and procedures;
and individual competence, account-
ability, and responsibility for his or
her own actions.
The Revised 2008 SOP in Nutrition
Care and the SOPP for RDs are the
result of a review and update of the
2005 ADA SOP in Nutrition Care and
Updated SOPP (6) using information
from ADA Regulatory Affairs’ review
of regulations, electronic survey feed-
back, and through the consensus of
the members of the 2006-2007 and
2007-2008 ADA Quality Management
Committees. Consensus is group opin-
ion based on expert knowledge and
experience. The Quality Management
Committee members represent di-
verse practice and geographic per-
spectives (2).
ADA’s Revised 2008 SOP in Nutri-
tion Care and SOPP reflect the mini-
mum competent level of dietetics
Approved October 2009 by the Quality Management Committee of the
American Dietetic Association House of Delegates and the Executive Com-
mittee of the Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American
Dietetic Association. Scheduled review date: February 2015. Questions re-
garding the Revised Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional
Performance for RDs in Oncology Nutrition Care may be addressed to ADA
Quality Management Staff at quality@eatright.org; Sharon McCauley, MS,
MBA, RD, LDN, FADA, Director of Quality Management or Cecily Byrne,
MS, RD, LDN, Manager of Quality Management.
K. Robien is an assistant professor, Epidemiology and Community
Health, School of Public Health, and Member, Cancer Outcomes and Sur-
vivorship Program, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Min-
neapolis. L. Bechard is a clinical nutrition specialist III, Children’s Hos-
pital Boston, Boston, MA. L. Elliott is a clinical dietitian, Mary Greeley
Medical Center, Ames, IA. N. Fox is a medical nutrition therapist special-
ist, The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha. R. Levin is a clinical dietitian
III, St Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, Mountain States Tumor Institute,
Meridian, ID. S. Washburn is a clinical dietitian, Seattle Cancer Care
Alliance, Seattle, WA.
0002-8223/10/11002-0018$36.00/0
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.11.001
310 Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION © 2010 by the American Dietetic Association