Jessie, the RDN!

Greetings! It's been a little while since I last posted, and for good reason--I've spent the past two months studying for the RD exam and now I can happily say I'M OFFICIALLY A REGISTERED DIETITIAN NUTRITIONIST! When I saw the words "Congratulations! You've passed the credentialing exam" I was in disbelief. Despite feeling prepared prior to the test, I just couldn't believe that all my hard work over the past several years had finally paid off. It was such an amazing feeling and I don't even think it's fully hit me yet that I'm actually an RDN!

Studying for these past few months was probably one of the most stressful times of my life, because the exam covers EVERYTHING in dietetics that a DPD program and internship encompass but the exam itself is only 125-145 questions. So, there's a whole bunch of material that candidates need to review, conceptualize, and memorize, but you never know which topic(s) will actually show up on your exam.

Studying was also stressful for me because I have a tendency to overdo things and I studied anywhere from 5-10 hours/day, 6 days a week, for 2 months. My actual studying strategy was first attending the Jean Inman review seminar (a 2-day review course) and then studying the Inman guide like it was the bible (I'm pretty sure I have the entire guide memorized at this point). In order to retain things, I need to write them down (more than once), so I would copy down any important points from the guide and write them in a notebook, and then make flashcards. When I was finished studying a topic/domain, I would complete 10-25 questions, and then focus on the things I got wrong. I tried to understand the WHY behind each topic and really focused on learning the concepts of the material in the study guide. One thing that I noticed while studying is that some of the questions are purely common sense, and others want you to really think and use critical thinking skills. Of course, there are those topics that you just have to memorize (like temperatures, drug-nutrient interactions, BMI categories, etc.). There were some topics that I felt I needed more background info on so I used several of my nutrition textbooks from over the years and also used an app called Pocketprep ($20--so worth it!) which really helped with providing additional practice questions and explanations. Three days before the test, I also found additional study materials online and focused on test-taking strategies because I could already feel my nerves taking over.

There's no definitive "right" way to study for the RD exam, but I don't think one needs to study as much as I did--especially because most of the material I studied wasn't on the test, and stressing myself out by spending all of my free time studying made me anxious. I didn't realize this fully until the night before the exam when I decided to take a relaxing bath set to spa music and thought to myself 'hmm I should have really been doing this all along'.  My advice to anyone who has yet to take their RD exam or is making another attempt is to RELAX, especially by making the time to put your books away and do something that feels good to you.

Now that I'm officially an RD (RDN, the two terms are interchangeable), I'm so excited for the future! I'll be posting more updates later in the week, so check back soon and if you have questions about how to study for the RD exam, or want to share your experience, feel free to leave a comment below 🙂

-Jessie Valentine, M.S., RDN!!!!