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Dietetic Internship Program

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VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System

The VA ECHCS DI Program will be accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year. Our program offers supervised practice hours in clinical dietetics, food service management, and community dietetics. The Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) Department professional staff at VA ECHCS administer the program. Registered Dietitians and Food Service Management participate in curriculum development in their specialty areas along with development of evaluation procedures. Staff of affiliate facilities will be preceptors for rotations they supervise, and assist in curriculum development for those rotations. No credit is given for assessment of prior learning for supervised practice hours.


Rotations and Supervised Practice

All rotations are designed to prepare interns for entry-level professional practice in dietetics or related fields. Interns will complete their rotations at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and may be assigned rotations at the following outpatient clinics: Golden VA Clinic, Jewell VA Clinic, Lieutenant Colonel John W. Mosley VA Clinic, Castle Rock VA Clinic and PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom VA Clinic. Additional community rotations will take place at Food Bank of the Rockies and Douglas County Health Department WIC.  

Each intern will engage in 32 hours of supervised practice weekly, typically from Monday to Thursday. The program offers two tracks for program completion, both starting in August and consisting of identical supervised practice hours and rotations at VA ECHCS and affiliate sites. The first week includes a general orientation to ECHCS, which covers the nutrition care process, introduction to various nutrition topics and VA computer systems training. Interns will have scheduled “off” days on federal holidays and short breaks during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Dietetic Internship Rotation Outline (for 2025-2026):
Orientation: 1 week
Management / Administrative: 7 weeks

  • Food Service Operations & Informatics (5 weeks)
  • Clinical Management (2 weeks)

Clinical Nutrition: 20 weeks

  • Medicine (2 weeks)
  • Spinal Cord Injury & ALS (2 weeks)
  • Surgery & Acute Rehab (3 weeks)
  • Critical Care & Nutrition Support (3 weeks)
  • Acute Behavioral Health (1 week)
  • Outpatient/Primary Care including MOVE! and Health Teaching Kitchen (7 weeks)
  • Home-Based Primary Care (2 weeks)

Community: 6 weeks

  • Food Bank of the Rockies (4 weeks)
  • Women, Infants and Children (2 weeks)

Professional Practicum* (Clinical Staff Relief) (3 weeks)
       *inpatient or outpatient, unit of choice with preceptor and Program Director approval


Curriculum Details

Administrative Dietetics: Interns will gain experience in food service systems management, administration, clinical management, food preparation, operational management, informatics, and process improvement through project-based rotations tailored to department needs and intern interests.

Clinical Dietetics: This component aims to provide practical experience in the nutrition care process, patient education, and multidisciplinary healthcare team participation. The inpatient rotations include general medicine, spinal cord injury, surgical care, acute rehab, critical care and nutrition support, and acute behavioral health. The outpatient rotation includes ambulatory care and MOVE! (a national weight management program). Interns will also complete rotations in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC).

Community Dietetics: Interns gain experience in wellness, health promotion, food insecurity, food distribution, and nutrition public policy. Community rotations occur at Food Bank of the Rockies and Douglas County Health Department WIC (Women, Infants and Children).

Additional projects:  Interns will complete various projects evaluated by the Internship Director. Examples of these include: planning and implementing activities at ECHCS for National Nutrition Month (March) and Preceptor Appreciation Month (April), resume development and mock interviews, public policy, and specialty populations assignments.

Internship Program Completion Requirements

  • Completion of all unit rotations in the supervised practice experience
  • Completion of all assignments and projects by established guidelines
  • Satisfactory performance in each rotation 
  • Achievement of entry-level competence for all ACEND competencies 
  • Attendance at all field trips, workshops and seminars as scheduled during the year

MS Degree at UA Requirements

The Master of Science in Human Nutrition program requires 30 credit hours, including a Capstone experience. Students must choose a curriculum track (Generalist, Community, or Clinical) and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Unique Qualities of Our Internship:

  • Preceptors: Our program boasts a dedicated staff of highly qualified dietitians and a teaching environment that emphasizes education and evidence-based practice. With our small class size, interns receive specialized, individualized attention, often with only one intern assigned to a preceptor per rotation.
  • Job Placement: We assist interns in finding employment within the government or private sector. With more than 100 VA Medical Centers across the country, there are increased opportunities to work for the VA.


Open House Information

To learn more about our program, consider attending an Open House session. These sessions provide an opportunity to understand the program in detail and meet preceptors, staff, and current interns. If you would like to attend our virtual open house, please email Shannon.Casas@va.gov or RSVP here. Meeting links will be sent upon RSVP.

Virtual Open House Dates for ECHCS DI:

  • Wednesday, October 22, 2025: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm MST
  • Monday, December 8, 2025: 10:00 am - 11:00 am MST

If you cannot attend our program open house, consider joining a VA Dietetic Internship National Forum, which will discuss all VA Dietetic Internship programs, including ECHCS. No registration is needed.

VA Dietetic Internship National Forum Dates:


For additional information, please contact the Program Director, Shannon Casas, MS, RD, CNSC, at shannon.casas@va.gov. 

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