Dietary Manager

The Dietary Manager certificate is designed to prepare students to work as Dietetic Services Supervisors or to sit for the Certified Dietary Manager exam. The courses prepare students for kitchen supervision and management in health care facilities, nursing homes, and other clinical food service venues. The courses include a mix of nutrition, culinary, and hospitality management and include a field service requirement. Completion of this certificate should enable students to enter supervisory roles in clinical food service.

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The program goal is for certificate completers to be employed as Dietetic Services Supervisors in California, or be ready to sit for the Certified Dietary Manager exam in order to earn that credential.

In California, skilled nursing facilities, acute psychiatric hospitals, intermediate care facilities, and other special hospitals and nursing facilities must employ a Dietetic Services Supervisor (DSS) or Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) if a Registered Dietitian (RD) is not full time on staff. DSS is a California-only designation administered by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The CDM is a nationally-recognized title that is administered by the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals (ANFP). Need for dietary managers will increase, given the projected growth of the aged population; the Los Angeles region’s elderly population over 85 is projected to grow 597% by 2060 and more care facilities will emerge to meet the need.

Fourteen California community colleges have approved DSS programs and nine have approved CDM programs; in most cases, they overlap. The curriculum for both programs is similar. CDMs require more training hours and a proctored exam, and earn a recognized credential that can move anywhere; however, the exam fee is $400 and ongoing membership fees and CEUs must be maintained. DSS requires completion of a certificate and is limited to California employment. Both credentials result in higher wages for employees.

Nutrition students may want to earn this certificate so they can get experience working in clinical sites and save money to continue their dietetics study. The requirement for a registered dietitian will increase to a Master's level in 2024 and students are concerned about their ability to support themselves. Culinary students might want to earn this certificate because it gives an alternative work pathway that is more highly paid than many restaurant kitchens.

The goal of this certificate is to give students the option of a higher-paid, recognized credential to improve their working conditions or to prepare them for further career achievements.

The program requirements include 8 2-or-3 unit courses and work experience worth 3 units.  The courses include Introduction to Nutrition Science, Introduction to Therapeutic Diets, Food Safety and Sanitation, Professional Cooking 1, Commercial Food Production, Hospitality Supervision, Menu Planning and Purchasing for Institutional Food Service, Hospitality Cost Control, and a Work Experience in Nutrition and Food Service.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
	Introduction to Nutrition Science	3	S1
HRM 52	Food Safety and Sanitation	2	S1
CUL 102	Professional Cooking 1	3	S1
HRM 56	Hospitality Supervision	3	S1
NF 91	Work Experience in Food Service	1	S1
NF 41	Introduction to Therapeutic Diets	3	S2

 Please see the rest of the required courses uploaded in the Supporting Document CO Narrative, below

Nutrition and Foods program

Orange Coast College – Dietetic Service Supervisor/Certified Dietary Manager Glendale Community College – Dietetic Services Supervisor LA City College – Dietetic Service Supervisor Long Beach City College – Certified Dietary Manager certification

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