Table of Contents Sec. 20-206m. Definitions. As used in this section and sections 20-206n to 20-
206t, inclusive: Sec. 20-206n. Certification; qualifications; examination. Certification without examination of applicants residing in this state. (a) The department may, upon
receipt of an application and fee of one hundred fifty dollars, issue a certificate as a
dietitian-nutritionist to any applicant who has presented to the commissioner satisfactory
evidence that (1) he is certified as a registered dietitian by the Commission on Dietetic
Registration or (2) he has (A) successfully passed a written examination prescribed
by the commissioner and (B) received a master's degree or doctoral degree, from an
institution of higher education accredited to grant such degree by a regional accrediting
agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, with a major course
of study which focused primarily on human nutrition or dietetics and which included a
minimum of thirty graduate semester credits, twenty-one of which shall be in not fewer
than five of the following content areas: (i) Human nutrition or nutrition in the life cycle,
(ii) nutrition biochemistry, (iii) nutrition assessment, (iv) food composition or food
science, (v) health education or nutrition counseling, (vi) nutrition in health and disease,
and (vii) community nutrition or public health nutrition. Sec. 20-206o. Certification without examination of applicants currently licensed or certified in another jurisdiction. The department may, upon receipt of an
application and fee of one hundred fifty dollars, issue a certificate without examination
to any person who presents proof of current licensure or certification as a dietitian or
nutritionist in another state, the District of Columbia, or territory of the United States
which maintains standards for certification determined by the department to be equal
to or higher than those of this state. No certificate shall be issued under this section to
any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the
subject of an unresolved complaint. Sec. 20-206p. Use of title. No person who is not certified by the Department of
Public Health as a dietitian-nutritionist shall represent himself as being so certified or
use in connection with his name the term "Connecticut Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist",
"Connecticut Certified Dietitian", "Connecticut Certified Nutritionist", or the letters
"C.D.-N.", "C.D.", "C.N." or any other letters, words or insignia indicating or implying
that he is a certified dietitian-nutritionist in this state. Any person who violates the
provisions of this section or who obtains or attempts to obtain certification as a dietitian-
nutritionist by any wilful misrepresentation or any fraudulent representation shall be
fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or
both. Failure to renew a certificate in a timely manner shall not constitute a violation
for the purposes of this section. Sec. 20-206q. Verbal orders from physicians. When a physician conveys an order for a diet or means of nutritional support to a certified dietitian-nutritionist by verbal
means for a patient in an institution, as defined in section 19a-490, such order shall be
received and immediately committed to writing in the patient's chart by the certified
dietitian-nutritionist. Any order so written may be acted upon by the institution's nurses
and physician assistants with the same authority as if the order were received directly
from the physician. Any order conveyed in this manner shall be countersigned by the
physician within twenty-four hours unless otherwise provided by state or federal law
or regulations. Sec. 20-206r. Renewal of certificates. Certificates issued under section 20-206n
or 20-206o shall be renewed annually, subject to the provisions of section 19a-88, upon
payment of a fifty-dollar renewal fee. Sec. 20-206s. Disciplinary actions by department. The department may take any
action set forth in section 19a-17 if the certificate holder fails to conform to the accepted
standards of the dietitian-nutritionist profession, including, but not limited to, the following: Conviction of a felony; fraud or deceit in professional practice; illegal conduct;
negligent, incompetent or wrongful conduct in professional activities; emotional disorder or mental illness; physical illness including, but not limited to, deterioration through
the aging process; abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or chemicals; wilful falsification of entries in any client or patient record; misrepresentation or
concealment of a material fact in the obtaining or reinstatement of a dietitian-nutritionist
certificate; or violation of any provision of sections 20-206m to 20-206t, inclusive. Sec. 20-206t. Construction of chapter. Nothing in sections 20-206m to 20-206s,
inclusive, shall be construed as prohibiting the activities of: (1) A person who does not
hold himself out to be a Connecticut certified dietitian-nutritionist, Connecticut certified
dietitian or Connecticut certified nutritionist from engaging in dietetics or nutrition
practice; (2) a person who does not hold himself out to be a Connecticut certified dietitian
or Connecticut certified nutritionist from marketing or distributing food, food products
or dietary supplements, from engaging in the explanation of the use, benefits or preparation of such products, from furnishing nutrition information related to any such products,
or from the dissemination of information or literature related to any such products;
(3) a person who does not hold himself out to be a Connecticut certified dietitian or
Connecticut certified nutritionist from providing weight control services; (4) a person
licensed or certified in this state under any other law from engaging in the profession
or occupation for which such person is licensed or certified, provided such person does
not hold himself out as being certified as a dietitian or nutritionist; (5) a person employed
as a nutritionist by the government of the United States, or by the Special Supplemental
Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children, if such person works solely under the
direction and control of the organization by which such person is employed; (6) a student
enrolled in an accredited academic program leading to certification, provided such student is clearly identified by a title which indicates his status as a student; or (7) a person
registered as a diet technician by the Commission on Dietetic Registration under the
supervision of a Connecticut certified dietitian-nutritionist in an institution as defined
under section 19a-490.
Sec. 20-206m. Definitions.
Sec. 20-206n. Certification; qualifications; examination. Certification without examination of applicants residing in this state.
Sec. 20-206o. Certification without examination of applicants currently licensed or certified in another jurisdiction.
Sec. 20-206p. Use of title.
Sec. 20-206q. Verbal orders from physicians.
Sec. 20-206r. Renewal of certificates.
Sec. 20-206s. Disciplinary actions by department.
Sec. 20-206t. Construction of chapter.
Secs. 20-206u to 20-206z.
(1) "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health.
(3) "Nutrition assessment" means the evaluation of the nutrition needs of individuals and groups based upon appropriate biochemical, physical, and dietary data to determine nutrient needs and recommend appropriate nutrition intake including enteral and
parental nutrition.
(4) "Nutrition counseling" means advising and assisting individuals or groups on
appropriate nutrition intake by integrating information from the nutrition assessment.
(5) "Dietetics or nutrition practice" means the integration and application of the
principles derived from the sciences of nutrition, biochemistry, food, physiology, and
behavioral and social sciences to provide nutrition services that include: (A) Nutrition
assessment; (B) the establishment of priorities, goals, and objectives that meet nutrition
needs; (C) the provision of nutrition counseling in health and disease; (D) the development, implementation and management of nutrition care plans; and (E) the evaluation
and maintenance of appropriate standards of quality in food and nutrition. The term
"dietetics or nutrition practice" does not include the administration of nutrition by any
route other than oral administration and does not include the issuance of orders for
laboratory or other diagnostic tests or orders intended to be implemented by any person
licensed pursuant to chapter 378.
(P.A. 94-210, S. 12; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
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(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may, not later than January 1, 1996, issue a certificate without examination to
any applicant residing in this state on October 1, 1994, who offers proof to the satisfaction
of the commissioner that he has (1) received a baccalaureate degree, from an institution
of higher education accredited to grant such degree by a regional accrediting agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education, with a major course of study
which focused primarily on human nutrition or dietetics and which included a minimum
of thirty semester credits in not fewer than five of the following content areas: (A)
Human nutrition or nutrition in the life cycle, (B) nutrition biochemistry, (C) nutrition
assessment, (D) food composition or food science, (E) health education or nutrition
counseling, (F) nutrition in health and disease, and (G) community nutrition or public
health nutrition, and (2) has completed not less than five thousand four hundred hours
of clinical practicum or postgraduate work experience in dietetics or nutrition practice
between July 1, 1980, and July 1, 1995.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may, not later than January 1, 1996, issue a certificate without examination to
any applicant residing in this state on October 1, 1994, who offers proof to the satisfaction
of the commissioner that he (1) has received a master's degree or doctoral degree, from an
institution of higher education accredited to grant such degree by a regional accrediting
agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, with a major course
of study which focused primarily on human nutrition or dietetics and which included a
minimum of thirty graduate semester credits, twenty-one of which shall be in not fewer
than five of the following content areas: (A) Human nutrition or nutrition in the life
cycle, (B) nutrition biochemistry, (C) nutrition assessment, (D) food composition or
food science, (E) health education or nutrition counseling, (F) nutrition in health and
disease, and (G) community nutrition or public health nutrition, and (2) has completed
not less than one hundred hours of clinical practicum or postgraduate work experience
in dietetics or nutrition practice between July 1, 1985, and July 1, 1995.
(d) No certificate shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom
a professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved
complaint.
(P.A. 94-210, S. 13.)
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 14.)
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 15; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 16.)
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 17.)
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 18.)
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(P.A. 94-210, S. 19.)
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