The Dietetic Internship Program (“DI”) is a supervised practice experience that offers two routes to become registry-eligible with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Eligibility listed below is effective as of the CDR’s January 1, 2024, ruling to require a minimum of a graduate agree to be eligible for the RDN National Registration Exam.
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Standalone Dietetic Internship program for prospective applicants who currently possess or will possess a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) or Foreign Dietitian Education (FDE) Verification Statement and a graduate degree upon admission to the program. The graduate degree obtained can be any academic discipline.
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Acceptance to OUHC’s Master of Science in Nutrition Science along with acceptance into the DI for applicants who have a DPD Verification Statement but are seeking a graduate degree.
The student will receive a Verification Statement and become eligible to take the National Registration Exam upon completion of both a graduate degree and the DI program. Upon passing this exam, the graduate will be credentialed as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and be prepared to function as an entry-level dietitian.
The OUHC DI program is composed of four rotations during which students complete assignments and projects to fulfill competencies derived from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) 2022 Eligibility Requirements and Accreditation Standards for DI programs. The intern will spend the equivalent of 8, 40-hour weeks in each of the first three rotations of community, foodservice management, and clinical. The Program Director arranges sites for these rotations, taking intern clinical interest into account. The fourth rotation is an Elective rotation spanning an equivalent of 4, 40-hour weeks. The intern is responsible for selecting this rotation site, subject to approval from the Program Director. All competencies required by ACEND are met in the program curriculum; these competencies are available in the “2022 Accreditation Standards for Nutrition and Dietetics Internship Program (DI)” on the ACEND website.
