Sian - Community Diabetes Dietitian

The work we do is varied, challenging but very rewarding. Dietitians help people for all different reasons and work in lots of different settings.
Food is a part of our lives multiple times a day, there’s lots of things to consider with nutrition when helping people - medically, culturally, socially - which makes it a very interesting subject to know and continue learning about.
Sian O'Dell, Liverpool Diabetes Partnership
As a Community Diabetes Dietitian I work with patients diagnosed with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes to support them with their diet to manage their diagnosis. This often includes presenting education sessions, seeing patients in clinic or at their homes.
I work closely in a team with Diabetes Specialist Nurses, Podiatrists and Consultants to support our patients in many ways. We help people to implement healthy eating principles to their lives to support diabetes – this can be in clinical sessions but also through creating resources and social media content.
I wanted to be a dietitian because I have a passion for healthy living. Having an imbalance of nutrition can affect the body in many ways and I enjoy learning about the preventative side of nutrition and health. Science is a subject I find very fascinating and ever-changing, which is challenging but very interesting and as a dietitian we use evidence-based guidance to help our patients. More recently, I have enjoyed learning about the psychological aspects of body image, weight and ‘diet culture’ and the affects diet can have on our mental and physical health.
Following GCSEs in school I knew I wanted to study to be a dietitian. I completed my A-levels in Chemistry, Biology and Psychology and then enrolled onto the Nutrition and Dietetics BSc programme at the University of Chester. I received my first job offer to work in Liverpool in the community team which I took up for 2 years before moving to the specialist diabetes team in April 2022.