Minneapolis VA Healthcare System
Thank you for your interest in the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Dietetic Internship.
Our program:- Is 42 weeks, with a Medical Nutrition Therapy concentration
- Includes an allocation of approximately $22,000 per student
- Provides approx. 1600 hours (September-June) of rotations in clinical dietetics, food service management and community nutrition as well as 14 vacation days (federal holidays and a week at Christmas or New Year's)
- Is accredited to accept 8 dietetic interns per cycle.
- Offers 2 tracks- MPS degree/DI for Bachelor's students or Stand-Alone DI for Master's students. Please see the information tab for more details.
Our staff:
The professional staff of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Nutrition and Food Service Department administers the program. Registered Dietitians participate in curriculum development in their specialty areas, the development of evaluation procedures and forms, and will be the preceptors of interns. Staff physicians, nurse managers and practitioners, clinical specialists, therapists and pharmacists of various specialties and services provide advice and information that is incorporated in to the training experience. Staff of affiliate facilities will be preceptors for those rotations they supervise and assist in curriculum development of those rotations. No credit is given for assessment of prior learning.
Pictured: Aerial view of the VA medical center grounds and surrounding neighborhood.
Virtual Open House Information
We are pleased to provide you with the opportunity to learn more about our Dietetic Internship Program. Open house attendees will be given a detailed program overview and have a chance to meet the preceptors, graduates of the program, and current interns. To RSVP for the virtual open house, please email jessica.long5@va.gov.
When: November 18th 2022, 2-4 PM
To view a recording of the open house hosted on 11/18/2022, follow this link:
Internship Open House
View our Virtual Program video at: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1309469315891413
Internship facebook page: Jessica's Internship Page | Facebook
Dietetic Internship Program Director information
Jessica Long, MS, RDN
jessica.long5@va.gov
612-467-2566
How to Become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
The current process to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) involves a series of educational steps.
- Complete a minimum of a bachelor's degree at a US regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Complete an ACEND accredited supervised practice program - the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Dietetic Internship program holds ACEND accreditation.
- Once a Master's degree is obtained and a verification statement of completion of the Dietetic Internship requirements is provided, the graduate is eligible to sit for the national RDN examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
- To maintain registration, the RDN must complete continuing professional education requirements.
About the Minneapolis VA Health Care System (MVAHCS)
The MVAHCS operates approx. 309 acute care beds including an extended care unit and a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center. This building also houses numerous outpatient clinics and medical research laboratories. Over 600,000 outpatients are seen yearly.
The MVAHCS is a 1A affiliated teaching hospital and as such offers a comprehensive range of specialized programs including chemical dependency treatment, cardiac catheterization and surgery, traumatic brain injury, HIV clinic, geriatric research, education and clinical center, nuclear medicine, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and women's clinic. Patient care is augmented through the availability of state-of-the-art medical equipment. Extended care programs such as hospital-based primary care, adult day health care, day treatment canter and the program for traumatic stress recovery emphasize the medical center's commitment to patient education and outpatient care. It has one of the largest overall education and training programs in the VA system.
