The BYU DI provides approximately 1200 hours of supervised practice distributed as 30% in clinical rotations, 30% in management experiences, and 20% at community sites, and 10% in Administration and Leadership. The final 10% is spent in optional rotations of the intern's choice
Medical Nutrition Therapy (Clinical)
The Clinical experience occurs in two main segments. During the fall semester the intern will spend seven weeks at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (UVRMC). Clinical experience will include medical/surgical, oncology, pediatrics, orthopedics, cardiac, diabetes, psych, and critical care. This rotation will have a small concurrent management component, helping the intern examine the interdependent functions of foodservice management and clinical care in a hospital setting. The clinical component is three seven-hour days/week, and the management component is one seven-hour day per week.
The second clinical experience takes place in winter or spring term in one of three major hospitals in Salt Lake or Ogden. In addition to strengthening skills gained in the first clinical rotation, the second experience may include pediatrics, burns, nutrition support, bone marrow transplant, newborn intensive care, rehabilitation, and other advanced clinical topics. The clinical experience will culminate in one week of clinical staff relief. Interns will also spend one week in long term care to complete the clinical rotations.
Management
The Management experience also occurs in two segments. During the fall semester the intern will work in the Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science Food Production Management Lab (FPML). Each intern will function as the manager of a subsystem in the lab. Interns will participate in menu planning, procurement, production, staffing, scheduling, and marketing. Other responsibilities will include monitoring costs, quality assurance, and productivity measures.
The second primary management rotation takes place at a medical center in Salt Lake City. During this segment interns will be involved in administrative activities and management projects. They will learn about financial management, personnel selection and training, personnel management, and evaluation of food service systems.
Community
The community experience will expose the intern to a variety of populations and agencies. It will include experience in each of the following: WIC, Utah State Health Department, and County Aging Services. This broad exposure to community health is followed by a two-week community rotation of the intern's choice.
Option
The option rotation is a two week experience in a specialized area of practice of the intern's choice. Opportunities exist in a variety of clinical, management, and community sites.
Administrative and Leadership
The Administration and Leadership rotations are “under construction,” but will take place at a variety of sites.
Academic Experience
The 37-week internship has a strong didactic component. Each rotation will be combined with classroom study to complement what interns are experiencing at the practice sites. The CURRICULUM schedule outlines course work for the internship and the internship/master's degree option.