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North West Allied Health Professions Network

NHS Health Education England

Sian - Community Diabetes Dietitian

Sian O'dell
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.