You can make a difference in the lives of students who are learning to become Registered Dietitians or Dietetic Technicians Registered. As the demand for dietetic internships has increased, highly qualified students aren't getting positions, not because they don't have good grades or varied work experiences, but simply because too few dietetic internship positions are available. The profession needs more practitioners who are willing to train and serve as positive role models, to assure that all qualified students can complete their education and sit for the registration.

Video Preceptor Recruiting

How Can I Help to Eliminate the Internship Shortage?

Preceptors are the limiting factor in providing a sufficient number of supervised-practice experiences to meet the demand from qualified dietetics students. All practitioners were at one time taught or guided by a volunteer preceptor or skilled practitioner, so each of us has the responsibility to continue in those footsteps by taking an active role in educating the next generation of RDs and DTRs. If you are already a preceptor, please encourage your students, interns and colleagues to consider becoming preceptors, too. If you have never been a preceptor, please sign up.

How Do I Get Started?

To volunteer as a preceptor contact an ACEND representative at ispp@eatright.org for a list of internship programs needing preceptor or mentors in your area. On occasion, students may contact you to see if you are willing to precept them. If so, ask for the name of the program and information about the program's expectations. Whether you are a new or well-established preceptor, you should go through preceptor training provided by the program to make sure that you can fulfill the specific requirements of the program such as:

• Teaching and modeling knowledge, skills, professional values and behaviors needed for students to successfully complete practitioner competencies
• Instilling the need in interns or students for patient advocacy, lifelong learning, evidence-based practice and giving back to the profession
• Supervising the practice abilities of the intern or student on a regular basis
• Evaluating the intern or student, providing feedback for improvement and documenting her/his progress
• Providing feedback to the program on the effectiveness of the education experience for continuous quality improvement
• Notifying the program if you become unable to precept interns or students
• Demonstrating no bias or conflict of interest in the education of interns or students
• Upholding the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Code of Ethics

What Are Individualized Supervised Practice Pathways (ISPPs)?

Individualized Supervised Practice Pathways or ISPPs ("ispeys") are intended to add supervised practice capacity through ACEND-accredited dietetics programs, while providing student protections missing from the unaccredited models of the past.

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How Do Other Professions Avoid a Shortage of Internship Positions?

All other regulated professions in the United States that require supervised practice, from nursing, to medicine, to law, to teaching, avoid shortages of entry-level supervised practice by providing both didactic education and supervised practice within one education program. In contrast, the majority of dietetic students must obtain their entry-level supervised practice by applying to a second, post-graduate program, often without the benefit of professional recognition through a graduate-level degree. Many students who fail to obtain internship positions are frequently given the excuse that "not every pre-med student gets into medical school;" however, this is an unfair comparison, because entry into the medical profession does not start with pre-med, it starts with medical school which includes at least one year of supervised practice. In comparison, entry into the dietetics profession starts with acceptance into a Didactic Program in Dietetic (DPD); however DPDs do not include entry-level supervised practice. This has resulted in about 2,000 students paying for an education every year who will never be able to complete it through no fault of their own, and simultaneously creating a pool of individuals who are likely to compete for many of the same positions as RDs after they graduate without the benefit of an RD credential.

Are There Enough Jobs for Dietitians?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of jobs for registered dietitians and nutritionists will increase by 9 percent between 2008 and 2018, however, we believe that even more RDs will be needed, because of the on-going U.S. health crisis. Avoidable diseases and conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are on the rise, but can be avoided if we have enough RDs who are willing and able to deliver the message and provide care in the communities where it is most needed. Data from CDR's workforce 2011 demand study workgroup indicate that there is only one RD or DTR for every 3,610 individuals in the U.S. population. Data about other professions from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2010 indicate that for each RD or DTR, there are 33 nurses, 3 pharmacists and 1 physician assistant. So, if we don't have enough RDs to deal with the demand in all areas of practice, we will be left behind as other practitioners with far less education in nutrition and MNT step in to meet the needs of this country.

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