Dietetic Internship Program

Acute Care/Clinical Rotation (11 weeks) 

Interns are placed in a community hospital setting or a long-term care facility including a rehabilitation unit. Affiliated clinical settings offer a variety of services to ensure a well-rounded and varied experience. Interns gain experience in nutrition screening, charting, developing nutrition care plans, enteral and parenteral nutrition, and interacting with patients and health care professionals. They start their experience by working on simpler tasks and advancing to more complex tasks as their experience proceeds. 

Food Service Management Rotation (4 weeks) 

Interns are assigned to a community-based food service location to complete their food service requirements. The location may be a school food service, community hospital, long-term care food service, or any other community-based organization that will provide an appropriate experience. Students learn how a food service operation functions and begin to develop managerial skills through observation and practice. Students also become familiar with the nutritional procedures and forms that are required by state and federal mandates in various facilities. 

Community Rotations (16 weeks for Community Nutrition Concentration)

Interns are placed in a variety of community settings including community health centers, hospital outpatient departments, state and local public health agencies, food banks, and government agencies. Placement occurs based on preferences expressed by the incoming intern, the ability to access a site based on the intern’s available transportation, and the achievement of a balance of exposures to different demographic groups with consideration of factors such as age, socio-economic status, and ethnicity.

Professional Practice Rotations (1-2 weeks)

Interns will have the option to choose a practice setting for their professional practice experience and set up their rotations based on their interests.

Eating Disorder Concentration Rotations (8-12 weeks)

Interns accepted into the concentration on the treatment of eating disorders will spend approximately 8-12 weeks in specialty rotations that serve clients in treatment for an eating disorder. Interns will experience different levels of care which may include hospitalized inpatient, residential programs, partial hospitalization programs, outpatient programs, and private practice. The exact number of weeks may change based on site availability, as well as the intern’s interests and professional goals. Interns will receive professional supervision from experts in the treatment of eating disorders while in their specialty rotations.

Pediatric Concentration Rotations (8-12 weeks) 

Interns accepted into the Pediatric Concentration will experience 8 weeks at a pediatric acute care facility, and 4 weeks in community-based pediatric sites. The exact number of weeks may change based on site availability, as well as the intern’s interests and professional goals.

Our Dietetic Internship is accredited by ACEND and meets their requirements by providing at least 1000 hours of supervised practice, and trains students in the knowledge and practical skills necessary to be eligible to take the Registered Dietitian (RD) examination administered through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Satisfactory completion of both the coursework and the supervised practice components are required to receive a dietetic internship verification statement, stating the program graduate is eligible to take the Commission on Dietetic Registration's RDN exam. After successfully passing the RDN exam, the individual can use the RDN credential and is then required to maintain credentialing though continuing education as required by CDR. Dietitians may have to maintain licensure for their state, if applicable. For more information about DPD and Dietetic Internship programs, go to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website.

The Simmons University Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).

ACEND® can be contacted by:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 800/877-1600, ext. 5400
Mail: 120 South Riverside Plaza
Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995

The MSDI program starts in the fall semester and continues throughout the first academic calendar year with graduate courses. Starting in September of the second year, MSDI interns will then follow the schedule for the stand-alone internship program (see above). Additional graduate courses may be required during the second year.

The stand-alone internship program consists of several supervised practice rotations that take place annually between the months of September and early May.  Interns follow a schedule laid out by the internship director and assistant director and do not follow the official Simmons University Academic Calendar.  The start and end dates, as well as the winter break schedule, is provided to all interns in the "Welcome Letter" sent out annually in May. There is a two-week vacation for the last week in December and the first week in January.  The final rotation schedule is provided to each intern by the first day of orientation. Interns are expected to be in their supervised practice sites 5 days a week (36 hours/week). Interns will register for Nutrition 451a (fall semester) and Nutrition 451b (spring semester), which includes the supervised practice, weekly internship classes and review days, and Joint Internship classes with Boston area dietetic internship programs. Interns are also expected to register for the graduate course Nutrition 452: Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation in the fall semester (evening course).

Simmons has two options for completing the dietetic internship.

Stand Alone Track

Up to twelve students are accepted into our full-time stand-alone internship program. This program is a 35-week program that includes all supervised practice hours and one course that may be applied for graduate credit. Students have the option of also applying to any of our graduate programs, but admission for any additional programs is separate.

MSDI Track

The first year of the MSDI and certain rotations can be completed as an online/distance student. Students choosing to do the program via distance learning need to have access to a computer that can accommodate video conferencing software, and reliable internet access

Up to twelve students will be accepted into our combined MSDI program in which students complete both the Master’s in Nutrition and Health Promotion and the dietetic internship over a two-year period (5 semesters including one summer). In this track, students will need to complete all supervised practice and master’s requirements before they may be issued a verification statement. Students in this track complete the Master’s in Nutrition and Health Promotion, and choose either the Research or the Entrepreneurship track.

Concentrations

The Simmons dietetic internship offers one concentration track for the Stand-alone track: Community Nutrition (CN). In this concentration, interns will complete rotations in community health centers, public health and wellness-focused settings. Students obtain experiences in community, public health, and outpatient sites working with culturally and economically diverse populations, focused on disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellness.

The Simmons combined MSDI program offers two additional concentrations for dietetics interns. Preference is given to interns enrolled in the MSDI program, but others will be considered if space is available so long as the intern is able to fulfill all specialty concentration requirements including didactic coursework.  MSDI interns are able to apply during their first year of the program to the Treatment of Eating Disorders concentration or the Pediatric Nutrition concentration instead of the Community Nutrition concentration (CN). All interns will automatically be enrolled in the CN concentration unless they apply and are then accepted into the eating disorder or pediatric concentration.

Only a limited number of slots are available in the Eating Disorder and Pediatric concentrations, and the number varies each year depending on available supervised practice sites.

Of those interns accepted into the Eating Disorder Treatment Concentration, they will experience 4 weeks at a community oriented rotation, and 8-12 weeks will be in various levels of care in eating disorder treatment facilities and practices. All interns in this concentration must take NUTR 420: Treatment of Eating Disorders in the fall semester in the first year of the program, and will complete their focused rotations in the spring of the second internship year.

Of those interns accepted into the Pediatrics Concentration, they will experience 8 weeks at a pediatric acute care facility, two weeks in a simulated adult hospital environment, and 4 weeks in community-based pediatric sites. All interns in this concentration must take NUTR 434: Advanced Medical Nutrition Therapy in the fall semester in the first year of the program, and will complete their focused rotations in the spring of the second internship year.

Simmons DI Program Completion Requirements

Verification statements will be provided to interns upon graduation when all of the following have been completed to the satisfaction of the internship faculty:

• Completion of required rotations including related projects and assignments and make-up of any days missed or sick days.
• Documentation of at least 1000 hours of supervised practice.
• Completion of all core competencies and program concentration competencies required by ACEND.
• The recommendation that the intern is prepared for entry level practice from all primary preceptors. The final recommendation may also be from an alternate preceptor in the case where entry level standards had not been met at the initial site/rotation.
• For interns in the stand-alone DI track: a ‘B’ or better in the required graduate level course Nutrition 452: Nutrition Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.
• For interns in the MSDI program: a ‘B’ or better in each of the required graduate level courses.
• Attendance at all scheduled Monday afternoon internship meetings for NUTR 451 at Simmons University. Interns may be excused from a scheduled class if they are able to provide a valid reason such as need to attend a required orientation for a field site, medical emergency, jury duty, etc. Permission to miss class should be obtained prior to the class if possible. Interns are responsible for any missed material and should take steps to obtain information from a classmate.
• Completion of a formal evaluation by the student’s primary preceptor at each rotation.
• Completion of a formal evaluation by the student of each rotation.
• Completion of any assignments associated with rotations or NUTR 451, the weekly internship course. Assignments should be submitted by uploading to Moodle, the Simmons University web-based platform. Each assignment must achieve the standard of “met” competency or a B for that assignment as graded by the internship faculty. Interns will be required to redo any work that does not meet this threshold.
• Participation in a review session for the RD exam.
• Participation in exit interviews at the completion of the 35-week internship experience.

Upon completion of all dietetic internship requirements as listed above, information for all interns will be submitted to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for eligibility to sit for the RDN examination.

Simmons Dietetic Internship Program Mission

To prepare interns to be competent, ethical entry level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who build on evidence based research and standards of practice and standards of professional performance to provide nutritional care, health promotion and disease prevention that is culturally and economically sensitive. Our graduates will develop an appreciation for life-long learning to increase knowledge and enhance professional development.

Simmons Dietetic Internship Program Goals

Since the profession of dietetics is built on a conceptual framework that is constantly changing as a result of the discovery of new operational principles, evidenced based research and standards of practice, the dietetic internship's goals are:

Simmons University Program Goal #1
Graduates will be prepared for a career using their intellectual and clinical skills to competently function as entry level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.

Program Goal #1 Outcome Measures

• Objective 1 – 80% of program graduates take the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists within 12 months of program completion
• Objective 2 - The program’s one year pass rate (graduates who pass the registration exam within one year of first attempt) on the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists is at least 80%.
• Objective 3 - Of graduates who seek employment, at least 80% are employed in nutrition and dietetics or related fields within 12 months of graduation.
• Objective 4 – At least 80% of employers will rate graduates as superior or strong in nutritional knowledge and professional skills compared with other entry level dietetics professionals.
• Objective 5 - (DI Program) At least 80% of program students will complete the program requirements within 12 months (150% of planned program length). (MSDI Program) At least 80% of program students will complete the program requirements within 31.5 months (150% of planned program length).
• Objective 6- 100% of graduates will rate themselves as being at least adequately prepared for the nutrition-related aspects of the position.

Simmons University Program Goal #2
Graduates will be prepared as entry-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to participate in continuous learning and professional development activities, and exhibit leadership.

Program Goal #2 Outcome Measures

• Objective 1: 80% of graduates seeking acceptance to graduate programs in place of employment will enroll within 6 months of program completion.
• Objective 2: 50% of graduates will indicate that they exhibit leadership skills by being actively involved in a professional organization or by implementing initiatives in their employment.

*Program Outcomes data are available upon request.

See tuition and fees for the Dietetic Internship Program.