How to Get Continuing Education Units as a Dietitian

Once you become a Registered Dietitian, you need to maintain your dietetic credential by completing 75 Continuing Professional Education credits (CPEs) over the course of five years and submit that to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). The Commission on Dietetic Registration uses the term Continuing Professional Education credits, but continuing education is also known as Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or Continuing Professional Education units (CPEUs). This article shares all you need to know about how to find continuing education units, both paid and free options.

Why do we need Continuing Education Units (CEUs)?

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) are credentialed food and nutrition experts and healthcare professionals promoting evidence-based nutrition education and care. CEUs ensure that RDNs are maintaining their training and credentials. Here are some additional reasons why you want to get continuing education as a dietitian:

• Stay up-to-date with cutting-edge, evidence-based information and latest research.
• Enhance your knowledge.
• Grow your expertise.
• Expand your scope of practice.
• Network and connect with other professionals both in and out of the dietetic industry.

The CDR also requires to complete at least 1 hour of continuing education related to the topic of ethics during each 5-year cycle, known as the CDR Code of Ethics. The CDR has a list of options to fulfill that requirement.

Primary Sources of CEUs

There are many ways to get CEUs. Here are some resources:

• Magazines: Today’s Dietitian magazine offers free self-study courses and recorded webinars that will provide CEUs upon completion.
• Dietetic Practice Groups (DPGs): If you are a member of a Dietetic Practice Group through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, you can get free CEUs through their webinars, newsletters, and articles.
• Conferences and Events: Attending a conference or event costs money, but they generally offer a large number of live event CEUs based on the length of the conference. Conferences can be done in-person or virtually.
• Training Programs: Depending on your areas of interest, there are many training programs to enhance your career from pediatrics, patient care, gut health, weight management, sports nutrition, eating disorders, and more. Master The Media*, a media dietitian training program offers a whopping 65 CEUs.
• Webinars: Many companies will sponsor free webinars as a form of conveying their messaging and products. There are webinars for various specialty topics such as clinical nutrition, nutrition support, clinical practice, the field of diabetes, FODMAPs, Intuitive Eating, and Heart Health.
• Books: Some health professional books provide CEUs upon completing them. Skelly Skills has a list of books that offer CEUs, and Advanceddietitian.com offers CEUs from books.
• Podcasts: This option is growing. Select episodes of Melissa Joy Dobbins podcast, Sound Bites Podcast, offer continuing education units for dietitians, as well as Dietitian Connection.
• Universities and Colleges: Enrolling in graduate-level courses related to nutrition, dietetics, or healthcare can count towards continuing education credits.

Where to find free CEUs for dietitians?

Finding free dietitian CEUs is not an easy task, so we did the job for you. Discover the top resources, from live webinars, pre-recorded webinars and even podcasts, from a variety of topics for free CEUs tailored for dietitians.

Free CEU pre-recorded Webinars by Providers

• Nutrition CME: Offers from 0.5 CEUs to 2.0 free CEUs; topics range from cancer, CVD, diabetes, GI, general nutrition, Neurology, Obesity, Plant-Based, and ethics.
• Dietitians on Demand: Has an extensive library of free webinars for dietitians, topics ranging from GI function, complications of bariatric surgery, diabetes and much more.
• Dietitian Connection: Another great resource that offers free CEUs on a variety of topics, including GI function, complications of bariatric surgery, diabetes, and infant nutrition.
• Becky Dorner: Has really good free resources for topics in dysphagia, ethics and older adult nutrition.

Free CEU Webinars by Institutions and Companies

• Dr. Schar: Many free resources on gluten-free diets, IBS, renal nutrition, keto nutrition and FODMAP.
• Nestle: Offers a variety of free webinars on topics like malnutrition, oncology, pediatrics, tube feeding and metabolic diseases.
• PEPSICO: Offers on-demand CEUs for dietitians on topics ranging from Dietary trends to gut health and food systems. Most of them are 1.25 CPEUs.
• Nutricia Learning Center: Has an extensive library of free CE for dietitians on topics like Tube feeding, GI and allergies, metabolism, neurology, and adult nutrition.
• SIGGI’S: Offers CE for dietitians in topics related to food insecurity, sustainability, dietary trends and healthy habits.

Specialized Free Resources

If you are looking to test your knowledge or what to do for a more practical application, dietitians on-demand offer case studies on a variety of topics such as diabetes, renal nutrition, refeeding syndrome, and tube feeding. You can get up to 2.0 CPEUs depending on the case. Additionally, Sound Bites is a great place to find free dietitian CEUs through an extensive library of topics from plant-based diets to mental health and food allergies.