Delaware Local Practice Facilities
The links below are affiliations with some of our local sites and serve as examples for types of facilities that provide excellent learning opportunities for dietetic interns.
Clinical Nutrition
Community Nutrition
- Delaware Division of Public Health
- Eugene duPont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitative Institute
- University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
Food Service Management
Please note the above facilities are examples of the types of practice facilities utilized in the Delaware Mid-Atlantic Dietetic Internship Program. These should also serve as examples of facilities appropriate for internship experiences, for applicants seeking practice facilities outside the Delaware Mid-Atlantic region.
Guide for Distance Interns
The following is information (located below) you should present to your prospective preceptors for your various rotations. You may refer to How to Select a Facility for general information on appropriate types of facilities for completion of internship requirements. You will find the facility/preceptor agreement form as a word document that you will need to submit with your application. At the time of application to our internship, you will need to have signed agreements for the following rotations:
- Clinical Nutrition (including critical care setting)
- Community Nutrition
Upon acceptance into the internship, you must arrange for the remainder of your rotations by May 31.
Tips for contacting appropriate preceptors
- Contact facilities or individuals where you have already volunteered or worked
- Network, network, network. Consider attending area conferences, ask professors for suggestions, or contact appropriate guest speakers you have had in classes.
- If a potential preceptor is not familiar with the University of Delaware Dietetic Internship, please feel free to forward them the letter describing the program and what is involved in being a preceptor. You may also encourage them to contact the program director, Anja Leefeldt, directly with questions: (302) 831-4989 or aleef@udel.edu
- Make an appointment to meet with the potential preceptor in person, if possible. Dress professionally and bring a copy of your resume.
You will need to ask each of your preceptors for a copy of their resume to submit, along with the rest of your application materials. Please see Sample Schedule to view how you can plan for your rotations.
Please be aware that affiliation agreements are required between the University of Delaware and each supervised practice facility. These agreements will be mailed to each facility after an intern has been accepted into the program. Some facilities require the use of their own affiliation agreements. These agreements can be forwarded to the internship director, who will then forward them to the University’s Director of Risk Management for review. On some occasions, it is not possible to reach an affiliation agreement that is acceptable to both parties, and the intern must identify an alternate rotation site.
Dietetic interns are required to complete learning activities involving a wide range of disease states, settings, populations, and cultures. Please see the table below for a list of potential facilities where these learning experiences may be obtained. We suggest you discuss these requirements with your preceptors because not all hospitals offer all these opportunities. For example, not all hospitals offer services for pediatric patients.
| Learning experience | Potential settings for supervised practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Disease States | ||
| Weight management/obesity | Hospital, wellness center, bariatric surgery center | |
| Diabetes | Hospital, wellness center | |
| Cancer | Hospital, cancer center | |
| Cardiovascular disease | Hospital, wellness center | |
| Gastrointestinal disease | Hospital | |
| Renal disease | Hospital, dialysis center | |
| Populations | ||
| Infants | Hospital, WIC | |
| Children | Hospital, WIC | |
| Adolescents | Hospital, school wellness center | |
| Adults | Hospital, WIC, any number of specialized centers | |
| Elderly | Hospital, long-term care facility | |
| Settings | ||
| Acute care | Hospital | |
| Critical care | Intensive care units in hospital | |
| Extended care | Nursing home, assisted living, home health care, rehab | |
| Prevention/Wellness program | Wellness center, school-based wellness center, preventive medicine center | |
| Public health/community (schools and WIC or WIC-equivalent) | WIC, Head Start, Food Bank, schools, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), Child-Adult Care Feeding Program | |
| Foodservice | Schools, hospitals, university dining, extended care facilities | |
Resources for Dietetic Interns
The University of Delaware offers several services for dietetic interns:- All interns have access to the University’s library online.
- Technical support for the dietetic internship is provided by UDOnline and the University’s Information Technology departments.
- Career Services Center
- Office of the Registrar
- Office of Graduate and Professional Education
- Office of International Students and Scholars
- Student Financial Services
