Dietetic Internship Program Clinical Assignments
Clinical Dietetics
The dietetic intern receives experiences in providing nutritional care to patients in the following services:
Clinical Nutrition Service (35 Weeks) - This service is responsible for the nutritional care of approximately 2,264 hospitalized patients (846 at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, 720 at the Columbia University Medical Center, 245 at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, 196 at The Allen Hospital and 257 at the Westchester Division) who present various diseases and disorders requiring different types of nutritional intervention. Dietetic interns gain experience in assessing the nutritional requirements of hospitalized patients, planning and implementing nutritional care plans for these patients, and evaluating the effectiveness of these care plans on patients' nutritional status. An orientation to the utilization of automated medical record and diet office systems in clinical dietetics is also provided. Each dietetic intern is scheduled to receive experience under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian in each of the following clinical specialty areas:
Clinical Specialty Areas
- Adult Nutrition Support
- Behavioral Health
- Burn Center
- Cardiology/Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Digestive Disease
- Endocrinology
- End Stage Renal Disease
- General Medicine/Surgery
- Geriatrics
- Neurology/Rehabilitation
- Obstetrics
- Oncology
- Pediatrics/Pediatric Nutrition Support
- Transplantation
Research (1 Week) - Dietetic interns are assigned to receive this experience at the Weill Cornell Medical College Clinical Translational Science Center or the Columbia University Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Both centers coordinate the nutritional management of adult and pediatric research patients with the clinical investigators' research studies. Dietetic interns review research protocols and learn the principles and procedures for providing diets to patients participating in research studies. An orientation to the utilization of data base programs used in research studies is also provided.
Food Service Systems Management
The dietetic intern receives experiences in all phases of foodservice systems management in the following services:
Kitchen (1 Week) - This unit is responsible for the production of meals for patients and the Hospital's retail operations. Dietetic interns gain experience in systems related to food production and distribution operations, managing human resources and quality improvement. An orientation to sustainability practices in food service operations is also provided.
Finance and Procurement (Integrated into Kitchen rotation) - This unit provides the dietetic intern with experiences in the ordering, purchasing, receiving, storage, distribution, cost accounting and record keeping of food and supplies as well as an orientation to the utilization of computers in foodservice operations.
Patient Food Service (2 Weeks) - This unit is responsible for all activities related to menu processing and the service of meals, nourishments and enteral feedings to patients. Dietetic interns gain experience in systems related to food service to patients, managing human resources, quality improvement and patient centered care initiatives. An orientation to the utilization of computers in patient care is also provided.
Ambulatory Nutrition
The dietetic intern receives experiences in ambulatory nutrition in the following services:
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Network Nutrition Services (3 Weeks) - These services emanate from the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Network. The Ambulatory Care Network clinics, with locations at the Columbia University Medical Center and the Weill Cornell Medical Center, provide health care, including nutrition counseling and instruction, to adult, geriatric, prenatal, gynecology and pediatric patients. Dietetic interns are assigned to multiple clinic locations to gain experience in providing nutritional care to patients in a variety of ambulatory care settings. The Nutrition Wellness Center, with locations at the Columbia University Medical Center and the Weill Cornell Medical Center, provides nutrition counseling and instruction to individual and groups of patients referred through NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Services and by private physicians. Experience in the Nutrition Wellness Center affords dietetic interns with the opportunity to learn to integrate ambulatory nutrition care within a framework of financial management and marketing. In addition, during this rotation, dietetic interns gain experience with the Be Fit to Be 'ne' Fit Program, a sustainability initiative which promotes healthful diet and exercise habits with the staff, employees and students of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Dietetic interns also gain exposure to providing nutrition counseling and instruction to patients in the ambulatory setting during their Digestive Disease and End Stage Renal Disease rotations in Clinical Nutrition Services.
Experiences in providing health care services in a variety of community settings is also acquired through participation in health promotion and prevention activities sponsored by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Department of Food and Nutrition, affiliated Hospital services and/or the Department of Community Relations.
Precepted Staff Experience
Learning experiences in clinical unit assignments are planned to progress the dietetic intern from observation and performing under supervision to independently assuming all of the responsibilities of a staff dietitian.
Each dietetic intern is scheduled for a three-week precepted staff experience. In addition, the conclusion of each three-week clinical unit assignment may be designated as a precepted staff experience. These experiences provide the dietetic intern with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during clinical unit assignments and to demonstrate competence in assuming full responsibility of a staff dietitian's position. For Dietetic Internship faculty, precepted staff experiences provide the opportunity to evaluate previous teaching and to observe the intern's progress and professional growth.
Responsibilities within precepted staff experiences are individualized according to the dietetic intern's level of demonstrated competence.
Professional Development Experience
Each dietetic intern is scheduled for a three-week Professional Development rotation during the second half of the Dietetic Internship Program year. During this rotation, dietetic interns are able to plan their own learning objectives and experiences in relation to meeting program competency requirements and based on individual interest, self-assessed learning needs and professional goals. Dietetic interns utilize the vast resources of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for their experiences in this rotation.
Disclaimer: Clinical rotations and learning experiences are subject to change due to operational changes in the Department of Food and Nutrition.
