Dietetic Internship Program Curriculum

About Our Curriculum

Our rotations provide a strong Nutrition Therapy experience, with a broad range of diseases and conditions. See below for details of each of our main curriculum areas.

Inpatient Clinical

Dietetic interns collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to provide nutrition care to a variety of medical and surgical patients. They develop skills in nutrition assessment and intervention, including nutrition-focused physical exam, diet education, and various modalities of nutrition support. During their clinical rotations they treat patients with cancer, organ failure, heart disease, and more. They have the opportunity to work with patients as young as newborns, as well as adults of all ages. In addition to clinical experiences at BIDMC, they’ll have the opportunity to gain clinical experience in one of our community hospital partners. Interns accumulate 20+ weeks of inpatient clinical experience, with plenty of enteral and parenteral nutrition support practice. They are well-position to work in a clinical or specialty setting after the internship.

Ambulatory & Community Nutrition Services

Under the supervision of our RD specialists, dietetic interns gain counseling skills in multiple clinics during their outpatient rotation. They apply their skills in the areas of general nutrition, weight management, diabetes, GI, oncology, cardiovascular health, and more. They’ll work closely with patients during their 4+ weeks of counseling practice, navigate sessions from start to finish, negotiate and set goals with patients, and educate individuals on therapeutic diets. In addition, interns have the opportunity to spend time at both Community Servings, Inc. and the Bowdoin Street Health Center.

Food Service Management

The interns gain hands-on experience working alongside food service managers within a large food production operation. They will assist in all areas, including patient meals, purchasing, production, and retail management. Interns develop skills in menu planning, food production and distribution, quality control and improvement, safety and sanitation, fiscal management, and human resource management. The flagship project during this rotation includes planning and executing a special menu for the cafeteria.

Opportunity for a Pediatric Focus

In partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), we have the capacity to provide a pediatric focus for 1 or 2 interns. This alternate experience allows an intern to spend up to 10 weeks in the pediatric setting, in place of some specialty rotations at BIDMC.

Please note, matching to the BIDMC internship does not guarantee placement in the pediatric focus. There is an internal application process managed collaboratively with our BCH colleagues. This happens in the summer, once the incoming intern class is confirmed.

Plan Your Own

Dietetic interns have a unique opportunity to plan a rotation geared towards a particular interest. Interns have found this a great way to explore a specialty area or industry that they would not otherwise get the chance to experience as an intern. Below are some recent examples of Plan Your Own rotations our interns have done:

• Eating disorder treatment/counseling
• Cardiovascular research
• Sports nutrition
• Inborn errors of metabolism
• Private practice
• Supplement/wellness industry