Program Overview

UCSF Medical Center offers a 52-week dietetic internship with a Nutrition Therapy emphasis in a dynamic teaching medical center environment. The internship includes experiences under the supervision of Registered Dietitians in clinical nutrition, management, and nutrition counseling and education. On satisfactory completion of the year, interns are eligible for active membership in the American Dietetic Association and to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians.

Over 740 Registered Dietitians have completed our dietetic internship program since it began in 1934. Our graduates are employed as clinical and outpatient dietitians, managers in clinical nutrition and food service, and in non-traditional jobs.

• Program Mission and Philosophy
• Program Goals and Measurable Outcomes
• Intern Learning Outcomes
• Schedule of Intern Learning Experiences
• Facilities
• Program Strengths and Limitations
• Accreditation Statement

Program Mission and Philosophy

For the benefit of our patients and the larger community, the mission of UCSF Medical Center is: Caring, Healing, Teaching and Discovering.

The mission of the UCSF Medical Center Dietetic Internship is derived from the institution’s mission. The dietetic internship’s mission is to provide in-depth supervised dietetics practice experiences in a tertiary health care center (HEALING) that values the skills and contributions of each staff member and intern, and fosters a foundation of high quality, compassionate patient care, (CARING), promotes development of our interns’ professional skills and attitudes (TEACHING), and prepares our interns for future practice and life long learning as registered dietitians in tertiary heath care centers and other practice settings (DISCOVERING).

We are committed to:

• Providing individualized learning experiences in a supportive learning environment;
• Developing dietitians with in-depth knowledge in nutrition, medical nutrition therapy, food service systems, and management;
• Modeling and teaching skills for evidence based practice with the expectation that interns apply these skills in their daily work and in their future careers;
• Fostering an environment that thrives on effective and honest communication and respect for others;
• Providing guidance for interns to take responsibility for their own learning and professional development;
• Maintaining high ethical standards;
• Compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards.

Program Goals and Measurable Outcomes

The program goals of the UCSF Medical Center Dietetic Internship are:

1. To prepare graduates who are competent for entry-level practice as registered dietitians.

2. To offer comprehensive learning experiences in dietetic practice.

3. To provide effective program resources and program management.

To learn more about our program goals and measurable outcomes, please click here

Intern Learning Outcomes

Intern Learning Outcomes are the foundation of the dietetic internship curriculum and serve as the basis for all planned didactic and practice learning experiences. The Intern Learning Outcomes of the UCSF Medical Center Dietetic Internship are:

1. Demonstrates personal and professional values that are consistent with the ADA Code of Ethics and UCSF’s ethical standards, showing respect for cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.

2. Promotes collaborative and cooperative working relationships with the health care team, preceptors, managers, staff and peers.

3. Effectively expresses ideas, assessments and recommendations in oral, written and/or graphic form when working with patients, peers, preceptors, managers, the health care team and the public. Adjusts communication style and content based upon the audience.

4. Demonstrates evidence based practice and critical thinking. Skills include collection and evaluation of relevant data, analysis of facts and information with attention to the source and strength of the evidence. Uses evidence to solve problems in all areas of practice.

5. Performs medical nutrition therapy through systematic assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation according to established standards with individuals ranging in age from infants to elders, with a variety of medical and nutrition diagnoses.

6. Plans and evaluates food and nutrition services to meet customer needs, applicable regulations, and in keeping with the institution’s priorities and resources.

7. Describes and utilizes as appropriate community resources related to nutrition and food programs.

8. Takes responsibility for own learning and professional development through self-assessment, planning and participation in professional activities.

Schedule of Learning Experiences

The Dietetic Internship at UCSF Medical Center is a 52-week program with a Nutrition Therapy emphasis. After approximately one week of general orientation, all interns begin clinical nutrition learning experiences in the Adult Inpatient Clinical Nutrition Core. Following completion of the clinical nutrition core experiences, interns are scheduled for experiences in Advanced Clinical Nutrition, Management or Nutrition Counseling and Education. The sequence of each intern’s schedule is different, but all interns complete the required learning experiences. Learning experiences and schedules are individualized, but dietetic internship credit is not given for prior work experience.

Interns are scheduled to work an eight-hour day and a forty-hour week, usually Monday through Friday. Hours will vary depending on the work assignment. Classes and field trips are usually scheduled into the forty hours but may occur outside of the regular daily schedule. After demonstration of competence in the inpatient clinical nutrition core rotation, interns provide "on-call" coverage from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weeknights; this responsibility is rotated among interns. Interns are also scheduled to work some weekends and holidays and earn time off for days worked. One week of vacation is planned in February or March.

For a detailed Description of Intern Learning Experiences, please click here

For a Schedule of Internship Learning Experiences, please click here

Facilities

Most internship experiences take place at UCSF Medical Center, a 662-bed tertiary care teaching hospital with sites at Parnassus and Mount Zion. The Mount Zion campus is located approximately five miles from the main Parnassus campus, with access via free shuttle bus service. During the Nutrition Counseling and Education experience, interns select a community nutrition program or agency in the San Francisco Bay Area that meets their interests. Elective experiences may be arranged at various locations within the San Francisco Bay Area. Some community and elective experiences would be available only to interns who have their own automobile.

Program Strengths and Limitations 

Deciding which Dietetic Internships to apply to is an important process. For a description of our internship program’s Strengths and Limitations, please click here

Accreditation Statement

The Dietetic Internship at UCSF Medical Center is currently granted accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation for the Dietetics Education (CADE) of The American Dietetic Association. CADE is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Post Secondary Education and the United States Department of Education. The address and phone number of CADE is 120 South Riverside Plaza Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, 312-899-4876.

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