Dietetic Internship Q and As-Updated with New Questions

Q: What is a dietetic internship?
A: It's a required 900-hour supervised practice experience that's typically completed in about 10 1/2 months following graduation from a four-year didactic dietetics program. The only dietitians who don't do an internship are those who complete their degree through a five-year undergraduate program that includes a year of supervised practice course work their final year.

Q: What do you do in the internship?
A: Interns complete rotations in various aspects of dietetics work including clinical, community, foodservice, management, and sometimes specialty areas such as information technology. Clinical rotations encompass many aspects of medical care and are different with all internships but may include pediatrics, renal, cardiovascular, AIDS, oncology, neurology, enteral, gastrointestinal, trauma, obstetrics and other areas applicable to medical nutrition therapy. Community rotations are often completed in conjunction with WIC clinics, food pantries, school lunch programs, etc. Foodservice rotations might involve planning menus, managing staff and procuring food items. Also, some time is devoted to lectures, meeting up with other internship programs, attending conferences, and going to workshops.

Q: Sounds cool! How much do you make?
A: Interns are not paid. In fact, the programs operate as educational platforms so interns actually pay tuition to attend the program. The fee for each program is different and goes up exponentially when a master's or doctoral degree is attached to the program.

Q: What is the "matching" process?
A: Dietetic internships operate in the same manner as medical internships when it comes to matching. The graduating student researches and applies to the programs that they're interested in. Applying typically involves a 2-3 page cover letter (some programs want this hand written), a standard application form, three sealed recommendation letters, transcripts from all schools, a verification statement that you're actually graduating, a check for the application fee, and any other program-specific forms. The applications from all students go in by a deadline in February and at the same time all students submit their program rankings to a digital database (sounds just like what it is, you number the programs to which you applied from your favorite to least favorite). Then the programs look through them all to select their interview candidates and call these people in for panel interviews with 2+ panel members to discuss any number of questions dealing with dietetics, personal philosophies, life goals, etc. After the interviews, the programs submit their rankings of their favorite candidates. These go in to the same digital database and then the computer works its magic and generates matches for all of the programs. What it comes down to is this: if a candidate's top ranked program also ranked them near the top, they're in. If not, then a ranking by their second program could get them, and so on. A candidate only matches to one program even if all of their applications were well-liked and all of their interviews went well. So if a candidate matches with their first ranked program, they will never know if any of the other programs also ranked them.

Q: What happens if you match?
A: The candidate calls the internship director to accept the appointment.

Q: What if you don't match?
A: Well, the candidate has a chance at filling a slot in a program that didn't match all of their slots or they have to wait and reapply next year.

Q: How many apply and how many slots are there?
A: I have no idea how many apply because the number of applicants for one program typically includes quite a few who also applied for all of the other close programs. A database of information that applicants can access to learn about internships typically shows an applicant rate of about 4-10 times the number of slots. Internships range from having 2-20+ slots (the higher end is for distance format internships where the intern sets up all of their own rotations with the guidance from the director of the program). The programs to which I applied have 4-12 slots each with applicant rates of 30-128.

Q: Can you just not complete an internship?
A: No, not if you want to be a registered dietitian. After completing the internship, the intern is eligible to sit for the national credentialing exam. The RD credential is the recognized professional credential in the field of nutrition and is required for most careers. If a student doesn't match one year, they eventually have to match in the future or they will not have the opportunity to earn the credential. If a student waits too long to do their internship, they may be required to retake courses to fulfill education recency requirements.

Q: What is the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?
Dietitian is a regulated term that can only be used by those who have passed the American Dietetic Association certifying exam and hold the RD credential. Dietitians complete course work in organic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, human nutrition, advanced nutrition, nutrient metabolism, medical nutrition therapy, public health nutrition, management, food production, and others and are considered the professionals in the field of nutrition. After certification, dietitians must maintain annual continuing education credits to retain their credential. The term "nutritionist" is not controlled and anyone can use that term to describe themselves whether their experience is based on having an actual degree or if they're a self-proclaimed professional after reading an article, some news stories, through personal experience or no experience at all. Dietitians often use the term nutritionist in addition to the title of dietitian because it is more easily recognized by the general public.

Q: Will I have experience in bariatric surgery?
A: Medical nutrition therapy courses cover a wide variety of conditions including bariatric surgery, pancreatitis, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, AIDS, celiac disease, Parkinson's disease, eating disorders, diabetes mellitus, and many other areas. Internships then build on this knowledge base to help an entry-level dietitian be able to work in a variety of medical fields. Beyond an internship, knowledge is gained on the job, through additional degrees or through additional board certification programs in pediatric nutrition (CSP), renal nutrition (CSR), oncology nutrition (CSO), sports dietetics (CSSD), gerontologic nutrition (CSG), diabetes education (CDE), lactation consulting (IBCLC) and others. This is why some dietitians have multiple credentials following their name. A really common credential that you'll see is LD, which means that they're licensed in their state to practice. Not all jobs require this, but many do so it's worth checking out. Another credential that you might see is DTR which is dietetic technician registered. This credential is given to those who complete a two-year program and pass a certification exam. DTRs don't typicallyhold the same positions as RDs, but the two often work together to fulfill all of the nutrition requirements of an organization.

Q: Where are RDs employed?
A: All over! Dietitians work in hosptials, public health clinics (such as WIC or health departments), school systems, private practice, research facilities, government organizations, public policy groups, educational institutions, aid organizations, communications (magazines, books or television), product development either for own production or in concert with major businesses and many other areas.

Q: What area do I hope to work in?
A: Right now my plan is to work with aid organizations promoting pediatric nutrition and health. I am also open to new interests that might come up during my internship. Lactation consulting has been an area of my interest in the past that I might look into as well. For now, I will continue working in the information technology side of dietetics doing nutrient analysis software evaluations and software maintenance.