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From:	Michelle Larson-Sadler (217.sub-70-219-164.myvzw.com)
Subject:	Re: career advice?
Date:	December 31, 2005 at 12:19 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: career advice? posted by Mark Rifkin on December 31, 2005 at 11:59 am:

Hi there...if you are an education professional in the schools and would like to teach classes, you may want to see if your local university or community college has a upper level or graduate level course tbat you may take in Nutrition Education, so you can teach the basic principles of nutrition (or vegetarian nutrition) as a part of your curriculum. I took a higher level Nutrition Education course when I attended university and it has really helped structure courses that I have taught in the schools and as a part of continuing education courses in the community. I think that Mark can agree, holding the RD certification is the most credible for counselling individuals on nutrition. I am a food chemist/technologist by trade, so I am qualified to teach individuals about the principles of vegetarian nutrition/food science/food production, but can't counsel anyone. I usually talk about nutrition from a science perspective and how the nutrients function or the properties of food. However I always refer individuals to see a health care provider about their personal nutrition questions as a caveat.

In regards to dissection in the biology/anatomy/physiology courses...when I took the biology lab courses in school, the labs were counted as separate credits. Where I went to school at the University of Minnesota, they could not force you to perform dissection in the lab and the like, if for ethical reasons. As a more compassionate alternative, we had simulated computer programs/modules for this portion, which I thought was more hands on and helpful in learning than dissection. When individuals are taking their courses, they may want to inquire with their school (the larger universities, especially) if this is a viable alterative.

Good luck on your career path.

Michelle Larson-Sadler

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