Type II diabetes affects more than 16 million Americans. Medical nutrition therapy provided by RDs is an essential component to the management of this disease. This study examined the use of the ADA nutrition practice guidelines for type n diabetes during the initial counseling session. Questionnaires were mailed to 105 RDs in PA who were members of The American Association of Diabetes Educators. After eliminating bad addresses and individuals who no longer worked in diabetes care, sixty-eight usable questionnaires were analyzed (response rate = 68%). A likert scale evaluating how often respondents always followed each of the nutrition guidelines was utilized to obtain a guideline usage score (GUS). Seventy-five percent of the RDs reported that they were following the guidelines. However the mean GUS was 54%; and only 13% of respondents had a GUS of 75% or greater. The majority of RDs counseled 15 or fewer clients with type n diabetes each week, and reported seeing the same client no more than three times per year. RDs who counseled at least 11 clients each week had higher GUSs than those who counseled less man 5 clients (p=.04). Additionally both private practice and outpatient dietitians had higher GUSs than inpatient dietitians (p=.02). Guideline use was positively correlated with both age of RD (r=.30, p=.01) and years of counseling clients with type n diabetes (r=.27, p=.03). Suggested ways to increase the implementation of the nutrition counseling guidelines include: wider dissemination using the internet and various professional diabetes and nutrition journals, as well as educational seminars focusing on the importance of guideline use.