Requirements for Preceptors and Facilities

• The Preceptor must be a full-time employee at the selected facility. The primary Preceptor may be a part-time employee if a qualified secondary preceptor is available to supervise the intern when the primary Preceptor is not available.
• Each Preceptor must submit a resume or curricula vitae. He/she must have appropriate credentials and work experience to mentor the intern in the specified rotation.
• A facility form will be submitted for each rotation. The following is a list of acceptable types of facilities:
• Facilities for Clinical Dietetics
  Acute care and/or long term institution. The Preceptor must be a registered dietitian with the American Dietetic Association with a minimum of one-year of work experience after credentialing.
• Food Service
  School food service, University Dining Services or a health care facility. The Preceptor must be a food service director or supervisor.
• Community
  All interns must complete a rotation in public health. Interns must find a facility to provide community management experience. Other types of facilities to complete the community nutrition experiences include: TheCooperative Extension, Food Bank, HeadStart, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), and Child-Adult Care Feeding Program.
• Throughout Internship
  Interns are expected to obtain learning experiences with a variety of populations, diverse cultures and in various settings. Interns should plan their rotations to include experiences with:
  
  Populations: infants, children, adolescents, adults, pregnant/lactating females, and the elderly
  
  Settings: acute care, critical care, outpatient, long-term care, wellness program and public health/community settings (schools and WIC or WIC equivalents as outlined in the community rotation section)
  
  Conditions/Disease States: weight management/obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases and renal diseases

Preceptor Responsibilities

• Preceptors need to read all application materials provided for the intern. They must have adequate time to supervise, mentor and evaluate the intern.
• The Preceptor must assure that the intern will be able to accomplish all the learning experiences outlined in the rotation materials.
• The Preceptor is responsible for scheduling all learning experiences for the intern during the specified rotation.
• It is expected that the Preceptor will provide feedback to the intern regarding observed strengths and weaknesses on a regular basis. The Preceptor will conduct the performance evaluation of the intern and act as the point of contact in the facility with the Dietetic Internship faculty. Internship faculty will schedule a time to discuss the performance evaluation via a telephone conference during the last week of the rotation.
• Preceptors must agree to fulfill the curriculum and abide by the policies and procedures of the University of Delaware Dietetic Internship.

Internship Faculty Responsibilities

• Provide curriculum and evaluation materials.
• Review and grade all intern assignments.
• Contact Preceptor and/or intern periodically to discuss rotation experiences.
• Track intern progress via an online journal.
• Be available for consultation as necessary.
• Be available for all evaluations via telephone conferencing.