A registered dietitian CEU is an educational requirement established by the Commission on Dietetic Registration that a dietitian must obtain for recertification.
Three Steps of the Registered Dietitian CEU Process
The CDR Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) Guide will walk you through the recertification process. However, before we discuss these three steps, it may be helpful to know their purpose.
According to the PDP guide:
“The PDP process is aimed at helping to enrich your continuing education experience. This is achieved by emphasizing assessment of your current role, goal setting, and reflection on the impact of the activities you complete.”
In short, the recertification process is designed to make you a better dietitian and help you achieve your career goals.
Recertification is a three-step process. (1)
Step 1: Learning Plan
The learning plan helps you analyze your career goals for the coming five-year cycle so that you can choose appropriate continuing education courses. After all, if you don’t anticipate where your career is heading, your selection of classes will be willy-nilly and potentially unhelpful in furthering your career goals.
How do you develop your learning plan? It’s easier than you might think. You use the Intelligent Goal Wizard tool the Commission on Dietetic Registration provides.
Step 2: Activity Log
After completing your learning plan, you will record the continuing education units you’ve attended and completed in your activity log.
When you’ve completed the minimum CEU requirements, you’ll submit it to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Please keep in mind that you cannot add any more activities for that five-year cycle once you’ve submitted your once your activity log for processing.
Step 3: Professional Development Assessment
You’ll also complete a professional development assessment at the end of each five-year cycle. This assessment helps you analyze the efficacy of your course planning regarding your career and enables you to prepare for your next cycle.
What Do I Need to Submit to CDR?
Participants must submit their activity log and learning plan by the deadline. For details, please see the CDR Professional Development Portfolio Guide. Keep in mind that you will not need to submit your professional development assessment.
How Many CEUs Does a Dietitian Need?
To maintain their credentials, registered dietitians must obtain a minimum of 75 hours of approved continuing education credits per five-year cycle. One of these credits must be in ethics. (2) You must document the completion of each CEU on your activity log.
What Type of CEU Opportunities Are Offered?
Do a little research, and you’ll be amazed at the variety of topics available for CEUs. You can pick and choose according to your interest and career goals.
Popular topics include:
- Sports nutrition
- Malnutrition
- Weight management
- General nutrition
- Prebiotics
- Probiotics
- POSTBiotics
- Managing stress
- Traditional diets
- Glucose management
- Foods to eat for various medical conditions
- Women’s health
Finding CDR Approved Continuing Education Units
You can find a complete listing of accredited providers at the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s website. These are organizations that provide certification courses for registered dietitians.
Ways to Obtain Registered Dietitian CEUs
Many organizations and events offer CEUs. Here are just a few. (This is abbreviated information from the CDRs Professional Development Guide, so please see the “activities” section for details and logging requirements.) Also, before registering for ANY activity, please read the 13-point Content Criteria Checklist for CPE Activities. (3, 4)
- Live lectures/seminars
- Interactive workshops
- Live Webinars/teleseminars
- Dietetic-related academic coursework at a regionally accredited US college or university
- Recorded pre-approved presentations
- Pre-approved online dietetics-related courses
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References
1- https://admin.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web///CDR_PDP_Guide_2026_v3.1.pdf
2- https://www.cdrnet.org/ethics
3- https://admin.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web///CDR_PDP_Guide_2026_v3.1.pdf
4- https://admin.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web///PDP%20Content%20Criteria%20NEW.pdf
