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For more information
contact:
Sharon P. Foley, MS, RD, LD
Director, Dietetic Internship
(708) 202-2343
sharon.foley@va.gov

Goals of Hines Dietetic Internship

Through participation in this well integrated curriculum, you will develop professional competence as well as a strengthened understanding of dietetics and of the diverse opportunities available to the professional dietitian.

1. The Hines Dietetic Internship Program will prepare graduates to become competent entry-level dietitians.

    Outcome Measures include:

• Results from registration exam & program completion rate (Assessment Methods include: Registration exam results, descriptive statistics for program completion rate)    
• ≥90% of graduates over a five year period will pass the National Registration exam on first attempt.
• Annual overall scaled scores and domain specific scores on the Registration exam will exceed the national average.
• ≥90% of interns will successfully complete the program annually.
   
• Results from graduate and employer surveys
(Assessment Methods include: Graduate/employer surveys)
• Based on graduate surveys, ≥80% of graduates will respond that the internship adequately prepared them for professional practice.
• Based on employers' surveys, ≥80% of employers will respond that the internship adequately prepared the graduates for professional practice.
• Results from a self-perception rating scale of competency (Assessment Methods include: Self-perception competency survey)
• Interns' self-perception of their ability to meet competency statements will significantly improve from the beginning of the internship to the end of the internship.
• Results from the capstone clinical staff relief experience (Assessment Methods include: Evaluation of capstone staff relief experience, walking round evaluations and productivity report(audit))
• ≥90% of interns will receive a rating of "excellent" or "very good" on their final staff relief rotation evaluation.
• ≥80% of interns will receive a rating of "fully meets" competencies on their staff relief walking rounds.
• The average productivity quotient (workload capture) for interns during staff relief will be ≥80% of the average RD productivity report (audit).

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2. The Hines Dietetic Internship Program will prepare graduates to serve the nutritional needs of the veteran population and the community at large and to compete in the job market.

    Outcome Measures include:

• Job placement within the Department of Veteran Affairs (Assessment Methods include: descriptive statistics of job employment)
• ≥25% of graduates will obtain positions within VA Medical Centers/Hospitals annually
• Employment upon graduation
(Assessment Methods include: descriptive statistics of job employment)
• ≥80% of graduates will obtain a Dietetics related position upon graduation
• Time to obtain a Dietetics related position will not exceed 3 months post graduation in >80% of graduates.

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3. The Hines Dietetic Internship Program will provide opportunities to foster participation in food and nutrition research using collaborative efforts with associated health care professionals in attempt to better serve the needs of our veterans and the community.

    Outcome Measures include:

• Completion of graduate research course
(Assessment Methods include: Descriptive statistics for graduate course performance)
• ≥80% of the interns will receive a grade of B or higher in HND 570
• Participation in research activities
(Assessment Methods include: Descriptive statistics for participation in poster presentations locally and nationally, and for collaboration with other disciplines.)
• 100% will participate in poster presentations of their research findings.
• ≥25% of projects will be presented at national/State meetings annually.
• ≥25% of projects will involve healthcare professionals from other disciplines.

Leaving the program as a generalist dietitian, interns will qualified for an entry-level position within the Department of Veteran Affairs, the largest employer of dietitians in the United States, or for an entry-level position in a variety of other organizations such as healthcare institutions, community agencies, private industry, school foodservice, and college and university foodservice. Assistance with job placement is provided near the end of the internship year. Graduates will have a sound basis on which to choose an area of specialization and to pursue ongoing education in any area of interest.

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