Dietetic Internship Program

Memphis VA Medical Center

Program Intro

Schedule and Curriculum:

The Catherine Austin Dietetic Internship at the Memphis VAMC provides approximately 1340 hours of supervised practice rotations in clinical dietetics, food service management and community nutrition. The internship will provide a focus on medical nutrition therapy utilizing the nutrition care process with a concentration in Ambulatory Care.  This concentration focuses on providing medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling for veterans in the outpatient setting including primary care, home based primary care (HBPC), and specialty clinics.  Additionally, interns will provide inpatient nutritional care in the surgical and medicine wards, intensive care units, geriatrics, palliative care, and spinal cord injury unit.  Also included in the internship year are 80 hours of didactic classes and 40 hours of professional training and up to 144 hours of vacation/federal holidays. Our interns will become members of local nutrition organizations such as the Memphis Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as experience the legislative process of the Tennessee Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Our goal is to produce leaders in the field of dietetics. The internship program is a full-time program and awards a certificate upon completion.

Orientation

The first two weeks of the internship will be spent in orientation. The first week will include a general orientation to the Memphis VA Medical Center. The second week will be a more specialized orientation to computerized charting, departmental procedures and utilizing the nutrition care process. Every intern will have about 40 hours of supervised experience weekly.  Interspersed throughout the internship will be class days and guest lecturers that will be in addition to the 1340 hours of supervised practice.

Completion Requirements for the Catherine Austin Dietetic Internship at the Memphis VAMC

 The VAMC Memphis Dietetic Internship program is a total of 40 weeks.  A minimum of 1200 hours of supervised practice are required for completion of this internship program. Additional projects will be assigned to enhance the program content and will be mandatory for program completion. Upon satisfactory completion of the internship program, a VA Certificate of Program Completion and the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) Verification Statement will be awarded. Interns are NOT given credit for any hours of prior learning or professional experience outside the dietetic internship.

Please contact the internship director to RSVP to a virtual open house or for any questions:

                Jackie Roos MS, RD, CDE, LDN
                Dietetic Internship Director/120
                1030 Jefferson Ave
                Memphis, TN 38104
                Email:  Jacqueline.roos@va.gov
                Phone:  (901) 523-8990 ext 7337 or 5683        
    

Memphis VA Dietetic Internship Virtual Open Houses 

November 4, 2020 at 10am CST
January 7, 2021 at 3pm CST

Due to concerns with Covid-19 we are holding off on the decision to host an in person open house until late summer 2020.  Please feel free to email the internship Director with any questions.

Current Credentialing Process to Become a Registered Dietitian

1. Complete a minimum of a bachelor's degree at a U.S. regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)  of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).
2. Completed a ACEND-accredited supervised practice program. Successful completion of the Catherine Austin Dietetic Internship at the Memphis VAMC provides the intern with a verification statement issued by ACEND which allows the intern to take the National Registration Exam. Upon successful completion of the exam, the intern is officially designated as a Registered Dietitian. The Dietetic Internship must provide at least 1200 hours of supervised practice experiences to meet the Competencies/Learning Outcomes defined for entry-level practice as a registered dietitian.
3. Passed a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). For more information regarding the examination, refer to CDR's website at www.cdrnet.org.*
4. Complete continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.

Effective January 1, 2024 the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master's degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).  In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor's degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR's Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12pm midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023.  For more information about this requirement visit CDR's website:  Https://www.cdrnet.org/graduatedegree.  In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).  In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice.  Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited Dietetic Internship at the Memphis VA Medical Center are eligible to take the CDR credentialing exam to become a RDN.

Optional University of Alabama/Memphis VAMC Dietetic Internship online MS in Human Nutrition
The VA Memphis has a partnership with the University of Alabama for an optional online masters of science in Health Environmental Sciences (Human Nutrition).  Read an overview including course, options, credit hours, contact information and tuition costs at www.nhm.ches.ua.edu/human-nutrition.html.  Applicants interested in pursuing an online master's degree at University of Alabama will need to apply to the graduate school after acceptance to the Catherine Austin Dietetic Internship program.

Optional University of Memphis/Memphis VAMC Dietetic Internship MS in Clinical Nutrition
The VA Memphis as has a partnership with the University of Memphis for an optional program for a masters of science degree in clinical nutrition.  Read an overview, including course options, credit hours, and contact information at www.memphis.edu/SHS/graduate/clinical_nutrition.php.  Applicants interested in pursuing a masters degree at University of Memphis will need to apply to the graduate school after acceptance to the Memphis VA Dietetic Internship Program.

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