Program Schedule

The Henry Ford Hospital Dietetic Internship will be comprised of a total of 9 months for option A and 16 months for option B, which includes 2 weeks off and 3 sick/personal days. It will begin September 8, 2025 and end May 15, 2026 (to best correlate with Michigan State University’s academic year).

Generally, each intern is scheduled to work 5 days within a 7-day period for a total of approximately 40 hours per week. Interns are usually scheduled for 8-hour days. However, interns who do not finish their daily assignments in the scheduled period are expected to complete them before leaving for the day. Additional time required for study, special projects, assignments, etc. are done during off-duty hours. What makes our program unique is that the interns will receive over 1,000 hours in a professional work setting with the majority of the hours providing direct patient care and medical nutrition therapy.

Supervised practice experiences, ranging from 1 week to 5 weeks long, are planned with a faculty-to-student ratio of usually 1:1. Clinical competency testing is completed through evaluation of assignments specific to the experience, daily interaction with the preceptor, pre- and post- testing, and through a variety of audits.

Professional self-reflection/self-evaluation is planned after each learning experience for the student to be accountable for their personal competence in practice as well as to reflect on interests, strengths, weaknesses, critical thinking skills, organizational skills, and short- and long-term goals and objectives.

Orientation/Basic Clinical Skills (3 weeks)

All interns have a 3-week didactic learning experience planned to introduce basic knowledge and skills needed throughout the program including policies and procedures and skills associated with the practice of medical nutrition therapy. Hands-on clinical supervised-practice experiences with an assigned RDN will be provided. Didactic classroom experiences complement the basic skills training.

Clinical (19 weeks)

These learning experiences place emphasis on medical nutrition therapy using the nutrition care process specific to the individual in-patient or out-patient population. Patient/family education, meal rounds, collaborative rounds, case-studies, pre-tests/post-tests, and discussion/evaluation of additional professional reading may be planned during each experience.

Cardiology/Cardiac Rehab/Health Coaching – 2 weeks

Internal Medicine/Pulmonary/Infectious Disease – 2 weeks

Oncology/Hematology/Henry Ford Cancer Institute – 2 weeks

Transplant – 1 week

Neuroscience/ALS – 2 weeks (Includes the Neuro Intensive Care Unit)

Nephrology/Dialysis – 2 weeks

Special Populations – 2 week (Includes bariatric surgery, maternal, and pediatrics)

Mid-Term Review/Wounds – 2 weeks

• During the Mid-Term review clinical supervised practice learning experience, Dietetic Interns address the nutritional needs and the educational needs of all patients on modified diets and/or receiving enteral nutrition. This learning experience is a mid-program evaluation of basic competencies and the nutrition therapy competencies for registered dietitian nutritionist education. This is accomplished through the use of the audit process to evaluate the interns.

Critical Care – Surgical – 2 weeks (Includes Nutrition Support Services)

Critical Care – Medical – 2 weeks (Includes Henry Ford Home Infusion)

Clinical Staff Responsibility (5 weeks)

The Clinical Staff Responsibility supervised practice experience is designed for the student to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of an entry level clinical registered dietitian nutritionist by assuming responsibility for managing clinical nutrition services for patients. The dietetic intern will demonstrate and be evaluated on the basic competencies for entry-level registered dietitian nutritionist education and the nutrition therapy concentration competencies.

Community/Management (3 weeks)

Diabetes Care Connection – 2 weeks

• Dietetic interns have the opportunity to participate in the system's Diabetes Care Connection. The interns observe and assist in the normal operational functions of the diabetes care center including the Patient Encounter Process and perform calculations of diet instructions as well as attend the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program sessions taught by the RDN, CDCES, and the Nurse Diabetes Educator.

Clinical Management – 1 week

• Dietetic interns will work alongside the clinical nutrition manager to assist in management functions such as scheduling, staff and leadership meetings, and observe day to day tasks.

Foodservice (4 weeks)

Retail Food Service – Dietetic Interns have the opportunity to complete a merchandising project in the retail area, which includes menu planning, meal forecasting, recipe standardization, budgeting, marketing, inventory control, equipment use, and the bill paying process.

Patient Food Service – The dietetic interns shadow each member of the management team discussing each area of their daily job duties, complete safety and sanitation audits, complete a plate waste study, discuss the budgeting process, and analyze risk in nutrition and dietetics practice including emergency preparedness.

Additional Schedule Information

Classes and Field Trips

• Didactic activities are scheduled on a month-to-month basis and are listed on a monthly meeting schedule. Interns are expected to be responsible for the content of all classes. If classes are scheduled during vacations, on scheduled days off, or when interns are off-campus, arrangements for class notes or handouts should be made. Field Trips may include: The Annual Henry Ford Health Nutrition Symposium, grocery store tour, demonstration kitchen, legislative day, and community/nutrition related events.

Weekends/Vacations/Holidays/Sick Days

• 2 weeks of vacation (1 week in December, 1 week in March) and 1-2 weekend experiences are scheduled during the program. Interns will not be scheduled to work on an official hospital holiday. Interns will be allowed to take up to 3 sick or personal days. If interns need a specific time off during the internship, they may speak with the internship director to adjust their vacation time.

Oral Presentations

• Oral Presentations are planned throughout the program to focus the intern on using accurate, evidence-based information presented in a logical and organized manner with key points summarized and related to dietetics practice. Towards the end of the internship, interns will present a Case Study to Henry Ford faculty and fellow interns.

Culinary Skills

• Utilizing the vast resources of our Executive Chef and Patient Services Manager, the program focuses on food, nutrients, cultural influences, and techniques to improve acceptability and patient compliance.

Other Activities/Projects

• Observe/Participate in a “LiveWell” Recipe and Cooking Video with the production team at Henry Ford Health’s West Bloomfield Demonstration Kitchen
• Complete a “LiveWell” recipe modification with the opportunity to video some of the recipe creations
• Attend the Nutrition symposium with a variety of medical nutrition therapy topics each year
• Plan, develop, and execute successful National Nutrition Month activities
• Prepare and present a Comprehensive Clinical Case Study

Further Schedule Information

1. DIs are responsible for reviewing the master and bi-weekly schedules pertinent to their assigned experiences and attending those experiences or activities, punctually.
2. The Internship Director (ID) schedules days off, weekends, vacations and holidays for DI’s. DI’s may be scheduled each weekend. Dietetic Interns are not scheduled on Holidays. Schedule changes may be made with the agreement of the (ID) and the supervising faculty or managers and only if such changes do not unduly disrupt scheduled experiences. Another DI has to agree to change workdays if time off is not scheduled but needed.
3. DIs who cannot attend a scheduled experience or who anticipate that they will be late, must call the RD office and the supervising faculty, manager or work area supervisor at least one hour before the assigned experience is to begin. If the Internship Director is not available before the assigned starting time, the Internship Director is to be contacted later.
4. DIs are to clock in and clock out daily
5. Clock-in is to be done before reporting to the scheduled area.
6. At the time of signing in, DIs are to check their email/mailboxes for messages.
7. The Henry Ford Health Dietetic Internship Program is a 9 month, full-time commitment designed to provide comprehensive training in Medical Nutrition Therapy. Interns are scheduled to work approximately 40 hours per week, typically over five days.
8. Vacation Time: Two weeks off is scheduled for dietetic interns—one week in December and one week in March or April
9. Dietetic Interns are granted 3 additional Sick/Personal Days
10. Holidays: Interns are not scheduled to work on official hospital holidays
11. If you anticipate needing additional time off beyond the allotted vacation or sick days, please discuss your request with the Internship Director as early as possible. While every effort will be made to accommodate such requests, approval is subject to program requirements and availability.
12. Dietetic Interns are expected to be present 100% of scheduled experiences. Any time off beyond the designated vacation or sick days may require adjustments to your schedule to ensure the completion of all program competencies and requirements.
13. Absences of three (3) or more consecutive days for illness require written documentation from a physician. For other absences, DIs submit a written report to the Internship Director describing the reason(s) for the absences (ie. Blizzard, power out, etc.). If DI illness is in question, DI is to call employee health that is accessible to students and follow guidelines.
14. For a chronic problem that results in an excessive number of absences, the DI may not be able to complete the internship program requirements in the allotted time and so may be given the option to stay on to complete requirements or resign from the Program. The internship Director maintains the authority to dismiss an intern from the program due to excessive absences.
15. The Internship Director documents all absences and incidences of lateness. The records are placed in the DI's file and may affect future letters of reference.

Optional Intern-Initiated Elective Rotations

While our core curriculum provides comprehensive training within Henry Ford Hospital, interns also have the option to pursue an elective experience outside of the organization. This is optional for interns to explore areas of personal or professional interest not covered in the standard program schedule.

Interns choosing this elective opportunity are responsible for identifying their own site and preceptor, with full support from the program to ensure the experience meets educational standards and does not delay program completion.

Intern Responsibilities

Interns who choose to pursue an external elective experience are responsible for:

• Identifying an appropriate supervised practice site and qualified preceptor who meet program and accreditation standards.
• Ensuring the elective aligns with the program’s educational goals and competency requirements.
• Submitting all required documentation, including preceptor information and proposed site details, by established deadlines.
• Assisting in the completion of an affiliation agreement between Henry Ford Hospital and the external site, if one is not already in place.

Program Role and Support

Henry Ford Hospital’s Dietetic Internship Program supports interns in pursuing elective experiences by:

• Providing guidance on site selection, preceptor qualifications, and experience objectives.
• Supplying templates and forms for preceptor communications
• Reviewing and approving elective site proposals to ensure compliance with ACEND standards and program expectations.

Assisting with the coordination of the affiliation forms as needed.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

• Dietetic Interns must demonstrate effective information exchange with patients, patients' families, and professional associates and preceptors.
• Dietetic Interns are expected to:
  
  • Create and sustain a therapeutic and ethically sound relationship with patients.
  • Use effective listening skills and elicit and provide information using effective nonverbal, explanatory, critical thinking, and writing skills.
  • Work effectively with others as a member of the interdisciplinary health care team.