Dietetic Internship Program

Through excellence in teaching, research, and service, UNF will provide a high quality 1200 hour supervised practice experience that is coordinated with related graduate coursework in a high quality learning environment to develop graduates who pass the National Registration Exam, secure employment in dietetics, and pursue professional development and service.

1. To produce competent, entry-level dietitians possessing the skills necessary to practice in a variety of food and nutrition.
• Five-year registration exam pass rate will be above national average >80%.
• 90% of graduates will agree or strongly agree on the Program Evaluation that program prepared them for dietetic practice.
• 90% of employers will rate graduates average or above on Employer Surveys.
• 90% of alumni will rate their level of preparation “above average” or higher on the Alumni Survey.
• 90% of dietetic interns will complete the internship program within 125% (or 5 semesters) of program length.
  
2. To prepare graduates to meet the needs of the Jacksonville community, the state, and the nation for registered dietitians.
• 90% of graduates who seek employment will have positions in dietetics within 6 months of program completion.
• 25% of graduates will be employed in dietetics-related in the Southeast region.
  
3. To prepare dietetic professionals who participate in professional development and life-long learning.
• In alumni surveys, 90% of graduates will report pursuing advanced positions, specialty certification or graduate degrees.
  
4. To provide highly knowledgeable and supportive professional staff and facilities that will support intern practicum experience.
• In preceptor/rotation evaluations, 90% of dietetic interns will agree or strongly agree that facilities supported learning and preceptors were knowledgeable.
• In Program Evaluations, 90% of graduating interns will agree or strongly agree that the program provides highly knowledgeable professional staff and facilities that support learning.
• In class evaluations, students will rate the course as >4.0. 

The UNF Dietetic Internship has been granted full accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND);  http://www.eatright.org/ACEND/  of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (AND), 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606, (312) 899-5400. Upon completion of all program requirements, graduates are eligible to receive a verification statement and take the exam to be registered.

The program is 16-months or 4-semesters in length. The internship rotations are coordinated with the graduate course work. Classes are held on Mondays and interns are in rotation Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Interns will also provide nutritional evaluation and counseling several Fridays each semester at health clinics for the medically underserved.

The first semester is spent in Foodservice Management. The rotation includes food production and procurement, food service systems, personnel management and employee education. The experiences culminate into an intern planned and supervised theme meal. The course work completed in the fall is Metabolism I, Research, Statistics, and Internship Practice.

Clinical rotations are completed in Spring semester. Interns will gain experience in a variety of areas including medicine, surgery, cardiology and diabetes. Together with the clinical rotation, the coursework completed is Nutrition Assessment, including the Nutrition Care Process, Clinical Nutrition, Metabolism II, and Internship Practice.

Advanced rotations are completed in summer semester and include clinical staff relief, pediatrics, diabetes, critical care, and renal. Rotations will be adjusted according to intern areas of interest. The rotations may also include transformational learning opportunity to provide nutrition therapy in Belize as part of a study abroad. Coursework completed this semester is Nutrition Education & Counseling, Epidemiology, and Internship Practice.

Community rotations are completed in the last semester and include the WIC program, Duval County Schools, private practice dietitians, UNF Health Promotion & Wellness, Community Wellness, extended care, and Cooperative Extension. Interns will also complete the Professional Seminar, Sociocultural Influences on Nutrition, Advanced Concepts, and Internship Practice courses. 

Throughout the program, each intern will focus on a research area. Interns are encouraged to complete case studies and course assignments in their research area. The coursework, supervised practice and research area will culminate in the final semester as part of the Professional Seminar class when interns will present on their research at a professional meeting.

Program completion is reached when the intern has successfully satisfied all rotation learning objectives, supervised practice hours and graduate coursework. Graduates are eligible to receive a verification statement and take the examination to become a registered dietitian. The registration exam for dietitians is administered by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition & Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (AND).

Interns selected for the program should anticipate the following expenses for the 16 months

A maximum of 15 interns are appointed annually. Applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:

1. A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited dietetics program
2. DPD verification statement
3. Minimun 3.0 GPA
4. 1000 GRE score or greater than 298 in the new scoring system (verbal and quantitative combined), 3 on the writing portion

1. Application letter. Three pages, typed, double spaced, with 1 inch margins, your letter should describe your professional goals, why you are an excellent candidate for a distance learning Master's degree nutrition program, and how your personal attributes would contribute to the program and the profession. (Note: The MS coursework is distance learning/online, but the supervised practice/dietetic internship activities will be in Jacksonville, FL, and in nearby areas.)
2. Official transcript(s) from all universities and colleges attended.
3. Declaration of Intent to Complete a Degree and Didactic Program in Dietetics or Verification Statement of Program Completion.
4. Three references submitted on Academy standard recommendation forms.  References should be from two professors and one work reference.
5. Applicants must also register for Spring Computer Match online for computer matching at www.dnddigital.com and select dietetic internship priority choices by February 15. There is a $50.00 computer matching fee.

Applications of qualified candidates will be reviewed by a committee and scored on GPA, GRE score, work experience, volunteer experience, reference letters and letter of application. 

D&D Digital Systems will provide all applicants their personal matching results via posting on the D&D Digital Systems Website at www.dnddigital.com on April 5.  

Appointees to the UNF Dietetic Internship Program are to contact the Dietetic Internship Director to accept or reject the appointment by 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on appointment day.