I found out some awesome news on Sunday! I was matched with a dietetic internship program!
I first began working in the field of nutrition 5 years ago and ever since then I have wanted to become a Registered Dietitian. To become an RD you must:
- Have a bachelor’s degree
- Complete an accredited dietetics program
- Complete a dietetic internship
- Pass the RD exam
The dietetic internship is where dietetic students get hands-on experience in all of the major fields of nutrition. It is 1200+ hours and includes rotations in clinical, community and food service settings.
The application process to be matched was very stressful for me because there were so many steps to getting my application submitted. I had to complete the DICAS application (which had many different components- transcripts, references, personal statements for each school, course work, work experience, volunteer experience, awards, etc.) and submit materials to each school I was applying to.
Then I had to register for matching. The way the matching process works is I had to rank all of my programs in the order in which I wanted to be accepted to them. The programs rank their applicants, and then the computer system matches applicants to programs based on the rankings.
I submitted my application materials in February and match day was April 7. Do you know how hard it was to wait 2 months to find out if I was matched anywhere? The match rate is < 50% and I was so nervous that I would not be accepted anywhere.
Applicants had until 5pm today to formally accept their position into their matched program. I talked to my program director yesterday to accept and should receive all of my internship program materials tomorrow. I’m so excited!
Turning Over a New Leaf
Ask a Dietitian
Hey Sam
Nice blog, I loved to read about you experience about becoming a dietitian. I am in my last semester and I am freaking out about the internship. I didn’t know it would be hard to get an internship in my hometown and I am scare to move. I want to ask you something, Did you have a lot of volunteer experience in your resume? I have been traveling from Alaska to Arizona, and studying online so I didn’t have much connections or time to do much volunteering. I am scare to don’t get a match because I don’t have much experience. ;(
Johanna
I was in a unique situation because I had worked for 5 years in school nutrition prior to applying for an internship. And my #1 school had an emphasis in school nutrition. So I felt like that helped me a lot. I think that they look at you as a whole, so if you are strong in other areas then I wouldn’t stress too much about volunteer experience.