Career pathway to working as a clinical and sports dietitian

Alison Walsh, self employed clinical and sports dietitian

After graduating from Deakin with a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics at the end of 1998, I spent four years as the dietitian of the Carlton Football Club, and a season with the Victoria Titans Basketball Team.  I was fortunate to also gain a strong grounding in clinical nutrition during my time at Ballarat Base Hospital and through my six years working with patients undergoing the laparoscopic banding operation for morbid obesity.  Since graduation, I have also worked in sports medicine clinics, corporate health, have spoken on radio on numerous occasions on RRR 102.7FM and ABC 774AM, and worked in my own private practice.  

At my practice in Kew, most clients present needing to lose weight, lower their blood cholesterol, and /or eat appropriately for diabetes.  I also see people of all ages (from babies to the elderly) with a variety of nutrition issues, women going through menopause and post-menopause, as well as individuals following a vegetarian diet.  Other areas of interest include food intolerances (including fructose and lactose) and allergies, sports nutrition, eating disorders, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in women, adequate nutrition for older adults, and keeping kids healthy.  

Besides running my own busy private practice, I occasionally lecture in nutrition for universities and other organisations, write for various magazines (in the past this has included Runners’ World, Ride On by Bicycle Victoria, and Triathlon and Multi Sport), and am a consultant Sports Dietitian for Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA).  I edit the SDA monthly newsletter “Fuel”, and also work in the SDA office to update fact sheets, work on the SDA website (www.sportsdietitians.com.au), co-ordinate SDA projects, undertake joint projects on behalf of SDA with other discipline bodies (eg. Sports Medicine Australia), and answer queries from the media.  The main skills Deakin helped provide came through the placements in hospitals, contacts I made through lecturers, and the ability to keep up to date with recent research.  (My Graduate Certificate in Sports Nutrition through Deakin also helped with these skills.)

The industry of Sports Dietetics is growing rapidly and has changed greatly since I graduated.  Sports dietitians are now clearly recognised as the leaders in credible sports nutrition information and are widely employed as essential team members for most elite teams.  Many recreational and junior teams have affiliations with individual sports dietitians, and coaches understand that part of good preparation includes careful planning of what their athletes eat on a day to day basis.

I love my work for the flexibility it gives me, the variety it provides, the challenges it brings, and the friendships made with like-minded people.

Alison's full graduate profile can be viewed here.