Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital with Morrison Management Specialists, Inc. Dietetic Internship

Introduction Mission and Goals Program Description Application Requirements Frequently Asked Questions Graduation Requirements Cost to Interns

Introduction Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital with Morrison Management Specialists Dietetic Internship is located at: Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital 1601 West St. Mary's Road Tucson, Arizona 85745 Phone: 520/872-6109, FAX: 520/872-6108. The city of Tucson, nicknamed the Old Pueblo, is Arizona's oldest city, with a unique blend of Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo heritages. It lies in a high desert valley surrounded by five mountain ranges. Approximately a million people live in the Tucson metropolitan area. The largest employer in the city is the University of Arizona. Forty-five minutes outside of Tucson, in the Catalina Mountains, lies the state's southernmost ski resort. The White Mountains, located about four hours northeast of Tucson, also offer skiing, both cross-country and downhill. Mexico, located about 90 minutes south of Tucson, offers cultural diversity which has heavily influenced Tucson over the years. There is great variety in local and nearby attractions, from the Tucson Museum of Art and Arizona Historical Society Museum to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Biosphere Two, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and Old Tucson Studios. Local sports range from golf, and tennis to college programs. Tucson's warm weather affords enjoyable outdoor activity year round. St. Mary's Hospital, the first hospital in the Arizona territory, was established in 1880 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on the west side of Tucson. Over the years, a coalition of hospitals in southern Arizona, starting with St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Hospitals in Tucson, became the Carondelet Health Network. Morrison Management Specialists became the food service provider for the Network in 1992. In 1993, a pre-professional dietetic practice program was accredited/approved at Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital, and the program became fully accredited in 1998 as a dietetic internship. <  back to top >

Mission and Goals Our Mission is to provide high-quality education, through a part-time, supervised practice experience, for dietetic interns to become competent, entry-level registered dietitians. Goals: 1. The Carondelet St. Marys Hospital with Morrison Management Specialists Dietetic Internship will develop competent entry-level dietitians who can successfully compete in the job market. - Outcome measure 1.1: Over a five-year period, 80% of internship graduates will successfully complete the registration examination on the first try. - Outcome measure 1.2: Over a five-year period, 90% of interns will complete the program within 120% of the time planned for completion. - Outcome measure 1.3: Over a five-year period, 90% of graduates who seek employment will have found jobs in the field of dietetics within 3 months of graduation. - Outcome measure 1.4: Over a five-year period, in a survey completed one year after graduation, 80% of employers who respond to the survey will evaluate graduate preparation of entry-level work as good or excellent. - Outcome measure 1.5: Over a five-year period, in a survey completed one year after graduation, 80% of graduates who resond to the survey will evaluate their preparedness for the job market as good or excellent. 2. The Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital with Morrison Management Specialists Dietetic Internship will prepare graduates to provide quality nutrition care to our culturally and ethnically diverse community by utilizing their academic training, practical experience, critical thinking skills, information technology, and problem solving skills. - Outcome measure 2.1: Over a five-year period, in a survey completed one year after graduation, 80% of employers who respond to the survey will evaluate graduate ability to provide quality nutrition care as good or excellent. - Outcome measure 2.2: Over a five-year period, in a survey completed one year after graduation, 80% of employers who respond to the survey will evaluate graduate sensitivity to cultural issues as good or excellent. <  back to top >

Program Description The Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital with Morrison Management Specialists Dietetic Internship provides a post-baccalaureate clinically-focused practice experience with an emphasis on nutrition therapy for an enrollment of six interns a year, three starting in July and three starting in September. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the American Dietetic Association at 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995; phone 1-800-877-1600, ext. 5400. Interns are provided the expected knowledge, skills,and competencies required to practice as an entry-level dietitian as defined by the American Dietetic Association. The dietetic internship is a 43 week program with a curriculum that focuses on medical nutrition therapy. The rotations are designed to sequentially build upon knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired in subsequent rotations. Following is a list of program rotations: Food Production Food Purchasing Retail Services Patient Services Food Service Supervision Food Service Administration Cardiology Burn/Wound Diabetes Pediatrics Renal Medicine Surgery/GI Critical Care Wellness Southern Arizona VA Healthcare Center (SAVAHC) - Food Service - Home Care - Diabetes - Outpatient - Renal - Rehabilitation - Inpatient/Critical care Research Clinical Administration Community Nutrition Tucson Unified School District Staff Relief RD Exam Preparation All rotations are 1-2 weeks long, except staff relief, which is four weeks. There are also lectures providing up-to-date information and materials that support the evolving levels of practice for each group of interns. To provide a curriculum which allows collaboration with other health care clinicians and exposure to a variety of settings, the program includes experiences at the following facilities in addition to Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital: Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, Tucson Medical Center, DaVita Dialysis Centers, Tucson Heart Hospital, Tucson Unified School District, Mobile Meals of Tucson, University of Arizona Worksite Wellness, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare Center, Pima County Health Department, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic, and The Forum at Tucson. The program is designed to require that interns be on site for 30 hours per week, however, some rotations will require greater than 30 hours. For approximately six weeks of the 43-week program, the intern must work a 40-hour week. Additionally, there are several program projects (food service administrative project, food service retail project, three clinical case studies followed by oral presentations, National Nutrition Month displays, clinical readings and study guides) that will require additional time for completion. While the program allows for outside employment, the intern must ensure that employment does not interfere with participation in program activities. Outside employment for greater than 20 hours per week is highly discouraged. Holidays off include Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and Memorial Day. There is a one week winter break at the end of December. Other religious holidays important to interns will be accommodated through arrangement with the program director and preceptor at the time of the holiday. The majority of the practice experience will be at Carondelet St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Hospitals. The other facilities that participate in the program are generally within a ten-mile radius of that base. Although public transportation is available in Tucson, access to an automobile is necessary. Interns begin the program in food service production and management, which provides a basic understanding of the philosophy and function of the Carondelet Health Network Nutrition Services Department. The food service units provide hands-on learning experiences in which interns can develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in food purchasing, production and delivery, as well as supervision and management. A 2 week experience in school food service at Tucson Unified School District, toward the end of the internship, supplements the knowledge and experience gained in the Carondelet system. The food service units are followed by the clinical nutrition rotations. The curriculum for the clinical nutrition rotations sequentially builds knowledge, skills, and competencies as the student proceeds from basic units such as cardiology, to the more complex, such as critical care. Over approximately 22 weeks, interns strengthen their skills in interviewing, counseling, care-plan development and implementation, and communications. Both didactic and practice-related learning experiences are included in the curriculum to allow the intern to strengthen collaboration, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills. The clinical portion of the program culminates with staff relief. Staff relief allows the interns to strengthen their clinical expertise in a specific area of interest. This rotation also provides interns with the opportunity to function as entry-level dietitians under the guidance of the unit preceptor. The internship also includes a 2 week community nutrition rotation, during which the intern will participate in and complete an assigned community nutrition group project. Interns will also participate in a 2 week research experience intended to provide insights into the planning, process, and publication of research relative to the field of dietetics. Interns are also encouraged to submit the results of a project completed during the internship for consideration as a poster presentation at the Arizona Dietetic Association or American Dietetic Association Annual Meeting. Upon graduation from the internship, the intern will be eligible to submit an application to sit for the Commission on Dietetic Registration Exam. A verification certificate of program completion is provided, which allows the intern to apply for entry-level dietetic positions. <  back to top >

Application Requirements The program is using the on-line centralized internship application, DICAS, which may be accessed at https://portal.dicas.org; e-mail DICASinfo@DICAS.org. DICAS will be available after December 8, 2010 for the Spring 2011 Match. The on-line application must be completed for our program by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 15, 2011. The fee to use DICAS is $40 for the first application submitted and $20 for each additional application. Applicants who apply to internships using DICAS will be asked to complete a personal statement in 1,000 words or less. Questions to be addressed in the personal statement include: - Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession? - What are some experiences that have helped to prepare you for your career? - What are your short-term and long-term goals? - What are your strengths and weaknesses or areas needing improvement? Official Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended should be sent to: DICAS - Transcript Dept., PO Box 9118, Watertown, Ma 02472 When completing the application form, applicants must include the name and contact information (specifically an e-mail address) for each reference. This will trigger an e-mail message requesting completion of a reference form. The form will be completed on-line. Students submitting more than one application will need to use the same individuals as references for each application. Applicants must also register online for computer matching and select dietetic internship priority choices by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 15. There is a $50.00 computer matching fee. Additionally, the following are required: - A minimum of 1000 hours of nutrition related experience, paid and/or volunteer. At least 300 hours of experience in a clinical setting is preferred. - GPA minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last two years of coursework. - Non-refundable application fee of $60 made to Carondelet Health Network. Checks should be postmarked no later than February 15th, 2011 and mailed to: Jennifer Doley, MBA, RD, CNSD Nutrition Services Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital 1601 W. St. Mary's Rd Tucson, Az 85745 <  back to top >

Frequently Asked Questions 1. What kind of work can be counted towards the 300 hours of clinical experience? Clinical experience hours can include volunteer or paid work which consists of nutrition screening, assessment, education, documentation and/or other direct nutritional care of patients/clients. This can be done in a variety of venues, including hospitals, clinics, and long term care facilities. 2. Can I still apply if I don't have 1000 hours of experience yet? Yes, your application will still be considered if you are in a position to continue working until the start of the internship in order to accrue more hours of appropriate experience. 3. Do have to be an American citizen to apply for this program? No, you do not have to be an American citizen to apply for the program, but non-citizen applicants must have the appropriate visa to be in the country to be part of a dietetic internship and meet internship application requirements. 4. How are interns placed into each class? At the time of acceptance into the program, interns are divided into two classes of three interns each. Often incoming students have commitments that make one class or the other more necessary or appealing. Sometimes there has to be compromise, but generally interns get the class of choice. If an agreement cannot be reached, the director will decide placement. 5. Can I receive credit or opt out of completing part of the internship based on prior learning or work experiences? No, you must complete all rotations in the internship to graduate. 6. Are there any scholarships or financial aid available? No federal grants or aid are available unless students are enrolled in a for-credit university program. However, ADA, Morrison Management Specialists, and other organizations have scholarships available for dietetic internship programs. The Helping Hand Scholarship, in the amount of $5000, is available to interns placed into the St. Mary's Internship. After placement into the program, information on the Morrison and Helping Hand Scholarships will be sent to interns. <  back to top >

Graduation Requirements The following conditions must be met to graduate from the internship: 1. Interns must pass each rotation by receiving scores of 3 or higher on all performance criteria on the performance evaluation form, a score of 80% or higher on the rotation post test, and by completing all unit assignments by established deadlines. 2. Interns must complete all projects and assignments in a timely and satisfactory manner. 3. Interns must attend all clinical and food service lectures, unless excused by the internship director. 4. Interns must complete evaluations of all their rotations, as well as an exit evaluation and interview with the internship director. 5. Interns must demonstrate competency in all 2008 Core Competencies as defined by the Commission on the Accreditation of Dietetics Education. 6. Interns must demonstrate no misconduct, academic or non-academic, and must perform ethically in accordance with the values of the American Dietetic Association. After completion of the above requirements, interns will receive a verification statement from the internship director to be eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians. <  back to top >

Cost to Interns Interns are responsible for the following costs (all costs are subject to change): - Tuition of $5,000 for approximately 1290 hours of practice experience. - Non-refundable application fee of $60 and a computer matching fee of $50. - Variable additional costs for books (~$50), general supplies (~$50), and lab coat (~$40). Black pants, white shirt, and comfortable shoes will be needed for food service rotations. - Lunch is provided for a nominal fee at many program facilities, but interns must cover costs for room, board, and travel. Ongoing expenses include rent (~$600/month) and car travel (~$120/month). - Interns must have medical insurance (~$600), professional liability (~$75), and automobile insurance (~$600). There are no support services available during the internship. - Student membership in the American Dietetic Association is required (~$49). - Verification of a TB skin test in the last six months or chest x-ray in the last year; as well as Rubella, Rubeolla, and Mumps immunizations or titer. - Blood test to confirm the absence Hepatitis B in your blood. - Three-shot immunization series for Hepatitis B with an antibody check one month after the last immunization to confirm Hepatitis B antibodies is recommended, but not required. Mail completed application to: Jennifer Doley, MBA, RD, CNSD Dietetic Internship Director Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital Nutrition Services 1601 West St. Mary's Road Tucson, Arizona 85745 Please send questions to: jdoley@carondelet.org Application materials are not returned except when a request is made via email to the internship director within 30 days following the appointment date. <  back to top >