Practitioner Resources

CNS Candidates

• What is a CNS?

• What paperwork do I need for the BCNS exam? It'‘ll vary by school, but in my time, this was the list of all the classes that I could consider taking before sitting for the exam.

• What internship should I do?

  • In-person or Online mentorships are available

  • Look for an internship program that are well structured to guide you every step of the way to prepare you for the CNS exam and set you for success in completing your hours (e.g. Clinician’s Incubator, Nutrition & Herbal Collective) - NOTE: I am not affiliated with any of these, they’re just other MUIH alumni that I’d like to support & have heard great things about!

  • You can also find supervised internships from nutrition practitioners who have been practicing for at least 3 years (these can range from $0 to $1K+ for 6 months). I did two internships, one in private practice for $0 and another as part of my school’s Experiential program for $1,200. Some peers reached out to former professors who were practicing and were charged $1K for 6 months of supervision. It just depends on who you ask!

Practice Makes Perfect.

Congrats! You just passed the CNS exam & have your LDN to start clinical practice … now what?

There are many career paths you can go from here since nutrition is pretty flexible amongst healthcare fields, and based on the state you’re in, it can be smooth sailing or quite a bumpy ride. Here’s my experience for both:

I’m not going to sugar coat it. California is not an easy state to start a nutrition practice (the CA tax alone is $800/yr)! I applied to dozenS of jobs, but all they wanted was an RD - which is understandable as they are the only ones with title protection here, and in many other states. If you’re in a state that licenses both, CNS and RDs, under the same LDN license like Maryland does, it’ll be much easier to find a job. It wasn’t until I earned my DCN degree that I really stood out from the crowd and demonstrated that I had earned the highest level of knowledge and skills a school could offer to be a nutrition professional. Once here, I was able to branch into:

Teaching - I started off as an adjunct professor in anatomy and physiology and the transitioned into facilitating courses within the master’s and doctoral nutrition program at various schools.

Biotech Lab - I heard through a Nutrition Facebook group that there was a job opening at a functional lab company. Now I help practitioners like you interpret conventional and functional lab tests!

Private Practice - Once you’ve determined your niche, you can starting honing your skills here! See next column on how to get started.

Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Private Practice

Unless you’re extremely business savvy, I highly recommended enrolling in a business building class! (I did mine with a former professor, Camille Freeman, who is the absolute sweetest)! From there you can look into:

• Company Name - if you’re in CA, check here to see if it’s already taken.

• Making a Logo - you can either pay someone to do it or if you’re like me, you can doodle something and create it in Adobe Photoshop/Canva!

• Forming an LLC/S-Corp - I definitely wanted to make sure I got all the correct paperwork done so I had a business lawyer help me out and explain the advantages of S-Corp vs LLC!

• Professional Liability Insurance - I chose TRMS for the low annual fee and services covered (again, not affiliated, just sharing what I’ve done).

• Hiring a CPA - Optional, but it really helps if you don’t want to deal with calculating all of of the taxes yourself!

• How to Determine a Fee Schedule - Determining a fee schedule will vary by area and expertise. I recommend checking what other nutrition professionals in your area are charging & either match theirs or adjust your price based on how much you think your skills, knowledge, and services should be valued at.