By Ann Martin Mildenhall

      
Since October 1999, Utah State University (USU) Continuing Education has been running a supervised practice in dietetics with a curriculum emphasis of training dietitians to work in Child Nutrition Programs, school foodservice management, and administrative dietetics.  In addition to this unique program emphasis, the program is administered as a distance education opportunity for interns who are location-bound. There are many non-traditional students who would be excellent dietitians but the do not have the personal resources to move out of state for a traditional internship or have family responsibilities that keep them close to home. They need an internship delivered in a flexible distance format like ours!

During the 29-week long program the interns complete the clinical and community rotations required for a CADE accredited internship. Foodservice management rotations (FSSM) comprise 13 weeks (45%) of the total program and are completed in a school district with the Nutrition Director and their staff. Interns have assignments in food production, purchasing, foodservice, administration and 2 weeks of school nutrition education in the classroom; they complete a two-week staff experience rotation during which they run some part of the operation on their own. Anyone interested in details about the internship should visit the website at www.extension@uss.edu/intern

If you are interested in being a preceptor for future USU dietetic interns in your local area, please let me know. Applicants interested in our internship ask for preceptor contact information as they are making decisions about which internships work for their circumstances. As you network with dietitians and dietetic educators in your local area, pass the word on about our program!

We have trained more than 170 graduates who now live in 35 states, Japan, and Mexico, so if you have job openings or know of CNP positions in your state, we would be an excellent resource.

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