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102 Erikson Hall,
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0050
tel: (859) 257-3887
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The Dietetic Internship at the University of Kentucky is currently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association, 216 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60606-6995, 312/899-4876.
The Dietetics Internship (DI) is administered in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science. The DI provides the students with educational opportunities designed with a generalist emphasis. Experiences for entry-level practice include nutrition therapy, food service systems management, and community nutrition through a minimum of twelve hundred four hours of supervised practice and didactic course work.
Registration eligibility requires:
1. Successful completion of supervised practice during clinical, community and foodservice management rotations within Lexington, Louisville and other selected locations.
2. Demonstrated competency in areas of didactic instruction
The Dietetic Internship program is dedicated to improving the health and well being of all people. It is a dynamic educational program that responds to changes in the health care system, population demographics, society, technology, and the food supply.Individuals are prepared to become professionally competent by providing generalist experiences in foodservice systems management, medical nutrition therapy and community dietetics. The DI provides opportunities for learning in both metropolitan and rural areas of Kentucky. Students will gain new knowledge through intellectual inquiry, evaluation and application of knowledge to dietetic practice. The student's individual and unique differences are considered in providing experiences, which will develop independence, initiative, creativity, maturity, critical thinking and self reliance for entry into the profession.Successful completion of the DI program enables the applicant to receive a verification statement. The statement documents eligibility to sit for the registration examination for dietitians.
The Dietetic Internship program (DI) provides intellectual and educational development through supervised practice and didactic education. The seven month long program provides students with competencies necessary to practice as entry-level dietitians. The University of Kentucky's DI Program is designed to provide flexibility to students by offering two separate pathways:
1. The first pathway is the Dietetic Internship. During the Spring and two Summer sessions, the DI student will enroll in a total of 21 credit hours in order to complete the minimum required twelve hundred four (1,204) hours of practice to achieve the competencies.
2. The second pathway allows the DI Student the opportunity to work on a Master's degree. DI students can enroll in graduate credit hours during the Fall semester prior to their supervised practice and complete the degree at the end of the internship. Graduate credit cannot be earned on field courses (800 level). The graduate credit hours apply toward requirements or electives for the Nutrition and Food Science Master’s Degree Program in Hospitality and Dietetics Administration. Students are encouraged to continue progress to the M.S. degree upon completion of the DI.
Supervised practice includes experiences in metropolitan and rural health care settings, school, university, and hospital food service, industry and government programs, and business and private consultative service. After successful completion of the program, the student will receive a signed verification form that confirms eligibility to write the registration examination.