RD Exam Mnemonics: 12 Memory Tricks for Dietetics Students

Fat-soluble vitamins and their deficiency signs

“ADEK”

1. AVitamin A: night blindness, xerophthalmia, Bitot's spots, poor immunity
2. DVitamin D: rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults, low calcium absorption
3. EVitamin E: hemolytic anemia (premature infants), peripheral neuropathy, ataxia
4. KVitamin K: bleeding, easy bruising, prolonged prothrombin time (INR)

Use it when: When a stem lists fat malabsorption (cystic fibrosis, cholestasis, bariatric surgery, orlistat) and asks which vitamins to monitor or which sign to expect.

Careful: Water-soluble does not mean no stores: vitamin B12 is held in the liver for years, so deficiency after gastrectomy shows up late. For a patient on warfarin the advice is a consistent vitamin K intake, not avoidance.

Niacin deficiency (pellagra)

“The 4 Ds”

1. DDermatitis: symmetrical, on sun-exposed skin (Casal necklace)
2. DDiarrhea
3. DDementia: confusion, memory loss, depression
4. DDeath, if untreated

Use it when: When a stem describes a rash on the neck and hands plus GI and mental changes, or asks which vitamin a corn-based diet is short of.

Careful: The body can make niacin from tryptophan (about 60 mg tryptophan per 1 mg niacin), so pellagra also appears in low-protein diets, carcinoid syndrome, Hartnup disease and with isoniazid. Corn treated with lime (nixtamalized) releases its bound niacin.

Thiamin deficiency and Wernicke encephalopathy

“COAT”

1. CConfusion (altered mental status)
2. OOphthalmoplegia and nystagmus
3. AAtaxia (unsteady gait)
4. TThiamin (vitamin B1) is the cause and the treatment

Use it when: When a patient with alcohol use disorder, hyperemesis, bariatric surgery or prolonged starvation develops neurologic signs, or when a stem asks what to give before dextrose.

Careful: Most patients do not show all three signs, so one or two in a high-risk patient is enough to treat. Give thiamin before glucose-containing fluids or feeding. Beriberi is the other thiamin picture: wet (heart failure) and dry (neuropathy).

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)

“Every RD Always Uses A Calculator”

1. EEAR: Estimated Average Requirement, meets the needs of half of a group
2. RRDA: set from the EAR to cover 97-98% of healthy people; the individual target
3. AAI: Adequate Intake, used when there is not enough data for an EAR
4. UUL: Tolerable Upper Intake Level, the ceiling, not a goal
5. AAMDR: adult ranges of 45-65% carbohydrate, 20-35% fat, 10-35% protein
6. CCDRR: Chronic Disease Risk Reduction intake, e.g. reduce sodium if above 2,300 mg/day

Use it when: When an item asks which value to use to assess a group's intake (EAR) versus plan an individual's intake (RDA or AI), or which value marks the safe limit.

Careful: Do not use the RDA to judge the prevalence of inadequacy in a group; that is what the EAR is for. The CDRR category was added in 2019, so older materials stop at five DRI types.

Nutrition Care Process steps

“ADIME”

1. AAssessment: food/nutrition history, anthropometrics, biochemical data and tests, nutrition-focused physical findings, client history
2. DDiagnosis: the nutrition problem, written as a PES statement
3. IIntervention: plan and implement (food/nutrient delivery, education, counseling, coordination of care)
4. MMonitoring: track the indicators chosen for the problem
5. EEvaluation: compare results with goals or reference standards

Use it when: When a stem asks what the dietitian should do first or next, or which step a given action belongs to.

Careful: The D is a nutrition diagnosis, not a medical one: PES means Problem related to Etiology as evidenced by Signs and symptoms, and 'diabetes' is never the P. Screening comes before the NCP starts, and the older ABCD assessment shorthand misses client history and physical findings.

Refeeding syndrome

“P-K-Mg fall, give B1 first”

1. PPhosphorus: the hallmark drop as insulin drives it into cells
2. KPotassium: falls with the intracellular shift; arrhythmia risk
3. MgMagnesium: falls; makes potassium hard to correct
4. B1Thiamin: give before feeding or dextrose to prevent Wernicke and lactic acidosis

Use it when: When a high-risk patient (very low BMI, little or no intake for days, anorexia nervosa, alcohol use disorder) is about to start feeding, or labs drop in the first days of feeding.

Careful: ASPEN 2020 advises starting at 100-150 g dextrose or 10-20 kcal/kg for the first 24 hours and advancing by about a third of goal every 1-2 days. It can be triggered by IV dextrose alone, not only by tube feeding or PN.

Protein in chronic kidney disease (KDOQI 2020)

“Down before dialysis, up on dialysis”

Before dialysis (CKD stages 3-5, metabolically stable, no diabetes) protein is restricted to 0.55-0.6 g/kg/day to slow progression; with diabetes the target is 0.6-0.8 g/kg/day. Once on maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, protein rises to 1.0-1.2 g/kg/day because dialysis removes amino acids. Energy is 25-35 kcal/kg/day at all stages.

Use it when: When a renal stem gives the stage or dialysis status and asks for a protein prescription.

Careful: The old fixed renal diet (for example 2 g potassium, 1 g phosphorus) has been replaced by individualized potassium and phosphorus based on labs. Sodium is the fixed number: under 2.3 g/day.

Treating hypoglycemia (ADA Standards of Care 2026)

“Rule of 15”

For a conscious person with glucose below 70 mg/dL: give about 15 g of fast-acting glucose (ADA says 15-20 g), wait 15 minutes, recheck, and repeat if still below 70. Once glucose is back in range, eat a meal or snack to prevent recurrence.

Use it when: When a stem gives a low glucose reading and asks what to give, how much, or when to recheck.

Careful: Pure glucose is preferred; avoid high-fat or high-protein foods such as chocolate or peanut butter for the first treatment because they slow absorption. A patient on acarbose needs glucose tablets, since table sugar is digested too slowly. Level 2 is below 54 mg/dL; an unconscious patient needs glucagon, not food.

Functions of management

“POSDCORB”

1. PPlanning: goals, objectives, policies, forecasting
2. OOrganizing: structure, departments, chain of command
3. SStaffing: recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling
4. DDirecting: leading, motivating, delegating
5. COCoordinating: linking the work of units
6. RReporting: keeping superiors and staff informed, records
7. BBudgeting: fiscal planning and control

Use it when: When a manager scenario asks which function an action belongs to, such as writing a mission statement (planning) or drawing an organization chart (organizing).

Careful: Many textbooks compress this to POLC (planning, organizing, leading, controlling). Controlling, comparing performance with standards and correcting, is not a separate POSDCORB letter, so expect it under budgeting or reporting in older sources.

FADE performance improvement model

“FADE”

1. FFocus: pick the process or problem to improve
2. AAnalyze: collect and study data on the current process
3. DDevelop: write the action plan
4. EExecute: put the plan in place, then monitor results

Use it when: When a quality-improvement item asks which step comes next or what the D or E stands for.

Careful: The D in FADE is develop a plan, not do. Do not mix the letters with PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) or Six Sigma's DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control); items often offer the step from another model as a distractor.

Conditions that let bacteria grow

“FAT TOM”

1. FFood: protein- and carbohydrate-rich TCS foods
2. AAcidity: growth is best near neutral; pH 4.6 or below inhibits most pathogens
3. TTemperature: the danger zone, 41-135 F under the FDA Food Code
4. TTime: limit time in the danger zone
5. OOxygen: some pathogens need it, some (C. botulinum) grow without it
6. MMoisture: water activity above about 0.85 supports growth

Use it when: When a sanitation item asks why a food is TCS, or which control (acidifying, drying, cooling) blocks growth.

Careful: FAT TOM explains growth, but HACCP items want the critical control point and the number. The danger zone is 41-135 F in the current Food Code; older materials say 40-140 F.

Cooling and reheating cooked food (FDA Food Code)

“2 hours to 70, 4 more to 41”

Cooked TCS food must cool from 135 F to 70 F within 2 hours, then from 70 F to 41 F or below within the next 4 hours: 6 hours in total. Food reheated for hot holding must reach 165 F for 15 seconds within 2 hours, and hot holding is 135 F or above.

Use it when: When a stem gives cooling times and temperatures and asks whether the batch is safe, or what to do with it.

Careful: The first 2-hour stage is the critical one. If food has not reached 70 F within 2 hours it must be reheated to 165 F and the cooling restarted, or thrown away; you cannot borrow time from the 4-hour stage.