When you tell someone you have finished school everyone thinks that you’re going off to work for a company. In my reality you still have an internship to complete involving a variety of medical rotations in community nutrition, clinical nutrition, food service management, and an elective rotation. A dietetic internship is more than working for a single company as an intern…..it is one of the most intensive experiences which prepares us to be dietitians by clocking in at least 1200 hours of supervised practice completely unpaid.
A dietetic internship is the second to last step of a long list of things a student must go through to become a Registered Dietitian. If you want to learn more about my nontraditional schooling route check out My Story. Below you will find what is required before applying to the dietetic internship (DI) programs followed by a second list of what the application requires you to submit.
The applicant pool is highly competitive and simply meeting the above minimum requirements is not always enough to get a coveted spot in an internship program.
“Hard work betrays none.”
– Hachiman Hikigaya
Once admitted into an unpaid dietetic internship you will then proceed to PAY your internship program anywhere from $7,000-$14,000. Which seems backwards to all of us who apply, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.
According to most programs it will cover our professional liability when we rotate through the hospitals/facilities and the rest of the money is tuition. The flaw in the entire system is that we are having to work 45-50-hour weeks for about 26 weeks and they explicitly do not recommend working during the internship period. So how are we supposed to pay for the internship, afford living, and have money for basic living expenses? I wasn’t sure at first but then had a brilliant idea!
The idea was to start a fundraiser for my dietetic internship tuition & fees, which has lead to the creation of a shirt with my slogan of “Count Nothing. Eat Everything.” Meaning, stop the dieting and start building a better relationship with food. This is an idea I firmly stand behind as a dietary student and soon to be RD.
In the last year-and-a-half I have worked full time as a dietary technician, while going to school full time, and managing to save up as much money as possible while exceeding the requirements mentioned in my blog. However, this is not going to cover all of the tuition & expenses throughout the internship. I know 100% that becoming a registered dietitian is what I am meant to do in life and felt this would be the most effective way to support my career goals. I refuse to allow money to halt my progress while pursuing my dream job!
By following the LINK HERE you can choose to support my life long career goals by purchasing a shirt or tank of your choosing where each purchase will go directly towards my fees. If you prefer to make a direct contribution there is a donation option as well on the page for you!
Please know that I am greatly appreciative of any and all help that you send in my direction. Whether that is words of encouragement, a donation, or purchasing a shirt. I hope this brings awareness to how hard Registered Dietitians work to prepare for our roles in the nutrition field.
Thank you for taking the time to read through my story and purpose behind this fundraiser. If you want to keep up with me on my dietetics journey follow along on my other platforms!