Program Overview

General Information 

• Program Length:  52 weeks
• Entrance Date: Program starts on the second Monday of June and the second Monday of October
• Class Size: 5 interns for each class (total of 10 interns per year)
• Work Schedule: Approximately 40 hours per week (5 days, 8 hours per day)
• Vacation: Each intern has 17 days of time off from the internship program (these days are used for sickdays and all holidays that are on a weekday)
• Stipend: $200 per month plus free meals and snacks
• Health Insurance: Interns are required to obtain their own health insurance

Curriculum

There are 3 major sections of the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Dietetic Internship. Interns have a wide variety of experiences, projects, and opportunities to prepare them to be an entery-level dietitian.

1. Medical Nutrition Therapy
2. Community/Wellness & Food Service
3. Emphasis

Clinical Inpatient Medical Nutrition Therapy
There are 19 weeks of clinical inpatient nutrition which provides interns with hands on experiences in medical units including: 

• Cardiac
• Regional Stroke Center and Neurology
• Rehabilitation
• Renal/Urology
• Orthopedics
• Oncology
• Intensive Care Units
• General Medical
• Children's Hospital-General and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
• Surgical

Community, Wellness, and Food Service
The 10 week rotation in community, wellness, and food service provides interns with the opportunity to gain experience through a wide variety of projects, observations, and outreach to the community such as:             

• Joslin Diabetes Center
• RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center classes
• Adult and pediatric outpatient observations
• Cystic Fibrosis clinic-adult and pediatric
• TV and media relations
• Create an educational handout and poster
• Legislative letter
• Outpatient counseling classes
• Cooking demonstrations
• School district education outreach
• Recipe development
• Community agency program experience
• Food production

Emphasis Curriculum
The unique 20 week emphasis curriculum provides diverse experiences to meet individual career goals and develop leadership skills. The curriculum is based on:

• Commission Accreditation for Dietetic Education of the American Dietetic Association Standards
• OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Dietetic Internship Emphasis Curriculum Development Guide

After the dietetic interns demonstrate the necessary skills to perform the entry-level practice they may choose one or more of the following emphasis areas for their professional goals.

• Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Community/Wellness

The goal of the emphasis curriculum is to help dietetic interns develop individual, in-depth knowledge and skills necessary for future proficiency in dietetics. However, it is not intended to prepare specialists or advanced level practitioners as defined for credentialing purpose.

• Projects required during the emphasis curriculum include: 
  • Counseling at OSF Sisters Community Healthcare Center - nutrition counseling at an ambulatory clinic
  • Nutrition Education Luncheon - professional presentation to health professionals for 1 CPE
  • Cafeteria Alternatives Project - plan, organize, coordinate and market healthy food items to consumers
  • Woodford County Diabetes Class - plan, organize and teach a nutrition class for people with diabetes
  • Professional Portfolio and Resume Development
  • Clinical Experience - gain further MNT experience in your area of interest

• Other optional projects during the emphasis curriculum may include: 
  • Eating disorders unit
  • HIV clinic
  • Metabolic clinic
  • Inpatient and outpatient perinatal care
  • Corporate wellness
  • Nutrition presentations to the community
  • Food services & catering projects
  • Newsletter articles
  • Diabetes camp
  • National Nutrition Month® activities
  • Participation in calsses, seminars, and conferences*

* Participation is arranged according to the specific goals of the interns.