Loyola University Chicago

• Application Requirements
• Contact Information
• Faculty Information
• Graduate-Level Coursework
• Information for Preceptors
• Open House Information
• Rotation Sites
• Supervised Practice

Nutrition is a profoundly important aspect of human health and quality of life. The Niehoff School of Nursing offers students the opportunity to gain experience in this important field through the ADA-accredited Dietetic Internship Program.

Established in 1995, the program accepts 20 full-time interns annually and begins on the first day of fall semester. Dietetic interns complete 1,080 hours of supervised practice, 12 credits of graduate coursework and participation in monthly seminars and activities over about 10 months.

Students benefit from the Niehoff School of Nursing's constructive and supportive environment, learning the leadership, communication and mangement skills they need to pass the registration exam and enter dietetic practice as competent, highly qualified professionals.

Graduates of Loyola’s Dietetic Internship program are highly sought for positions in health care and wellness nutrition programs. Students enter a wide range of dietetic careers, including:

• Clinical dietitian in an acute or long-term care facility
• Community nutritionist with a federally-funded food assistance program
• Food-service manager/director in food operations
• Private practice consultant
• Consultant in food business and industry

Supervised Practice 

Interns complete six rotations during the course of the program and are scheduled at supervised practice sites Monday through Friday.

Clinical Rotation (50 days): Interns learn to complete the tasks of a clinical dietitian and follow the host facility's standards of care and practice guidelines. Interns are initially assigned a low number of assessment, screening, educational and follow-up activities per week on less-complex patients. As the weeks proceed, interns are assigned more complex cases and the volume of patients increases. In addition, interns participate in the quality management program for clinical nutrition care, in-service presentations, patient care conferences and departmental meetings.

Management Rotation (25 days): Interns actively participate in all aspects of food-service management, including production, purchasing, service, inventory systems, human resources, safety and sanitation. Through this experience, interns gain experience in problem solving, quality management and fiscal management.

Community Rotation (30 days): This rotation allows interns to work with diverse age groups, as well as socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Interns are involved in planning and conducting group classes, planning and evaluating menus for group feeding programs, analyzing and developing data-collection systems for monitoring programs, planning and implementing community-based intervention programs, and communicating nutrition information to groups through written and oral measures.

Long-Term Care Rotation (10 days): Interns work collaboratively with site preceptors to provide nutrition care to the elderly, developmentally disabled, psychiatric and rehabilitation residents in long-term care facilities. This rotation includes experiences in both clinical nutrition care of residents and management of food-service operations within long-term care facilities.

Marketing Rotation (10 days): Interns have the opportunity to work on marketing a food product or nutrition service, employing market strategies, evaluating consumer needs and trends, testing products and interacting with the media. Possible sites include food and pharmaceutical companies, public relations firms and wellness programs.

Nutrition Education Rotation (10 days): In this rotation, interns develop a professional-level presentation or publication on a current topic in dietetics. In addition, interns provide assistance to local professional associations in planning and implementing their educational programs.

Graduate-Level Coursework

Once a week, students come to the Lake Shore Campus to participate in a three-hour class covering topics related to their supervised practice. Class time is not calculated in the supervised-practice hours. Classes include lecture, discussion, group problem-solving, critical-thinking activities, exams and additional assignments.

Courses (12 graduate credits as follows)
FONU 400:  Dietetic Internship: Orientation (2 credits)
FONU 401:  Dietetic Internship: Supervised Practice I (5 credits)
FONU 402:  Dietetic Internship: Supervised Practice II (5 credits)

Monthly Seminars and Activities
Interns broaden their perspective on various areas of dietetics through seminars, group tours and other activities. Examples include:

• Participation in the Illinois Dietetic Association Annual Assembly and the Illinois Dietetic Association Lobby Day in Springfield
• Seminars on sports nutrition, ethical issues in dietetic practice and media training
• Ethnic food tours

Participation in these activities is required. This time is not calculated as part of supervised-practice or didactic hours.

Application Requirements

For admission to the Dietetic Internship program in the Niehoff School of Nursing, applicants must submit:

• A $35 application fee
• A completed standard ADA application form
• Official transcripts (including verification of completion of a didactic program in dietetics from an accredited college or university) with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 (on 4.0 scale)
• Three letters of recommendation
• A statement of purpose. M.S.N. applicants: Please provide a statement describing your professional goals and area of academic specialty interest.

The Loyola Dietetic Internship participates in the nationwide, computerized matching process which is administered by D&D Digital Company, Ames, IA. It is necessary for you to submit your dietetic internship ranking preferences according to D&D Digital requirements. You can obtain more information about this process and requirements at: http://www.dnddigital.com/ada/index.php.

Open House Information

The next Dietetic Internship Open House is:

Friday, January 4, 2008
6:30 - 8:00pm
Room 160
Stritch School of Medicine
Loyola University Medical Center Campus
2160 South First Avenue
Maywood, IL 60153

Please refer to the Loyola homepage for maps and directions (http://www.luc.edu). Joanne Kouba, Internship Director, will give a presentation on the internship and allow plenty of time to answer your questions. A few current and past interns will also be there to share their experiences.

Please RSVP to Joanne Kouba by E-mail jkouba@luc.edu by January 2, 2008. Specific details on location and directions will be forwarded.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Contact Information

For more information about the academic program, or to arrange a visit, please contact:

Dietetic Internship Director
Phone: 708.216.4132
Fax: 708.216.9555 
APPLICATION: http://www.depdpg.org

Information for Preceptors

Competencies:

• Clinical
• Community
• Long Term Care
• Management
• Marketing

Rotation Sites

Loyola has collaborative partnerships in primary, tertiary and non-traditional health care settings. These sites include acute care medical centers, community hospitals, WIC clinics, senior citizen congregate feeding programs, school-based nutrition programs, residential long-term care facilities, wellness programs, private practices, and community organizations. Faculty members design the supervised practice and guide students in placement of appropriate sites to meet individual goals and interests.

Faculty Information