The UNMC Dietetic Internship Program is administered through the Division of Medical Nutrition Education in the School of Allied Health Professions.
Program Length: Eleven months
Openings: Six
Degree: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate with 15 semester credit hours of graduate level coursework
Program Description: The UNMC Dietetic Internship Program curriculum is competency based, meeting all generalist program competencies and providing an emphasis in nutrition therapy. The program is approximately 75% supervised practice and 25% coursework. Students are evaluated on the basis of core competencies that reflect the breadth of dietetics practice.
During the dietetic internship program, students work with a faculty of approximately twenty-five (25) registered dietitians at UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center who provide much of the clinical coursework and supervised practice experience related to nutrition therapy, community nutrition and management. The academic medical center environment offers students the advantage of interaction with many health care professionals and students in a variety of health care professions including medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and the nine other allied health care programs. Dietetic interns also have access to the regionally accredited medical library on campus.
Additional community nutrition and consulting dietetics experiences are provided through affiliations with registered dietitians and organizations in Omaha and surrounding communities in Nebraska. Supervised practice experiences may include private industry, government programs, long-term care, community based health education and disease prevention programs, and consultant dietitians in private practice. Affiliating institutions and organizations include Dairy Council of Nebraska, Hillcrest Health & Rehabilitation, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, schools, and other community outreach programs.
Time Commitment: The UNMC Dietetic Internship Program provides an intense and rewarding educational experience. The supervised practice experiences and fifteen-eighteen semester credit hours of coursework during the 11-month period require more than a 40-hour week for successful completion.
Students will occasionally be scheduled for evening or weekend activities to fulfill specific learning requirements. Observed holidays include Labor Day, Thanksgiving (including the following Friday), Martin Luther King Day, and Memorial Day. The schedule includes a two-week semester break in late December-early January and a one week spring break.
Due to the intensity of the curriculum, students are encouraged to not obtain outside employment during the course of the program.
Personal Appearance: Students are expected to dress professionally at all times. White lab coats will be worn during most nutrition therapy rotations. In addition, students are required to meet dress code requirements of the facility in which they are assigned for supervised practice experiences.