Your commitment as a preceptor is essential to the success of the ºÚÁÏ¿Æ Polytechnic's Dietetic Internship Program.
The hub provides resources, guidance, and tools to support a structured, meaningful, and rewarding supervised practice experience for our dietetic interns.
Together, we prepare interns to meet ACEND competencies and enter the profession as confident, competent, and ethical practitioners.
Supplement Your Training
Here are a variety of video links to learn how to implement more effective strategies as a preceptor for dietetic interns.
- Using Questions as a Teaching Strategy: asking good questions helps interns become better independent problem-solvers.
- The Dietitian Perspective: What Makes a Successful Preceptor?: hear what makes a successful experience from fellow preceptors.
- The Intern Perspective: What Makes a Successful Preceptor?: learn straight from the source for how to improve your abilities and maximize their time at your facility.
- Tips for Dietetic Preceptors: Part 1 and Tips for Dietetic Preceptors: Part 2: get insight into how to be an effective preceptor.
- Critical Thinking in a Dietetic Internship Setting: help foster critical thinking in the minds of future dietitians.
Important Details for Intern Projects
Get in-depth knowledge to help facilitate work for interns at your facilities.
The intern must contact their preceptor no less than 2 hours prior to start time of rotation. A phone call should be made to the preceptor and email to coordinator/director.
Make up of rotation experience of a single day will be at the discretion of the preceptor in consultation with the coordinator/director. Timesheets are required and each intern is expected to obtain 1,000 precepted hours. Dates of make-up will occur (if necessary) during the holiday break or at the end of the entire internship schedule in May, or online Friday classes.
Allowing interns to work on their portfolio during the rotation is not necessary but often appreciated. Interns are expected to complete portfolio assignments outside of rotation hours, as needed.
If an intern is assigned to work at home, then these hours can count for the rotation. We do have some rotations that do allow this due to inclement weather, illness or just because it warrants itself for the nature of the rotation.
The time you spend with an intern depends on the intern’s knowledge and skill level. At a minimum, you would want to check in on a regular basis to make sure the intern is on track with regards to assignments and work to be accomplished. It is important to be available to answer questions and provide opportunities to the intern to learn and gain valuable experiences. Interns are competent in the field of nutrition and are well prepared but still may need guidance throughout the rotation.
We would like you to be understanding and supportive of the many additional projects interns are participating in. However, it is up to you, as the preceptor if you would like the intern to make up any missed time. Please contact the director if you have any questions.
The time you spend with an intern depends on the intern’s knowledge and skill level. At a minimum, you would want to check in on a regular basis to make sure the intern is on track with regards to assignments and work to be accomplished. It is important to be available to answer questions and provide opportunities to the intern to learn and gain valuable experiences. Interns are competent in the field of nutrition and are well prepared but still may need guidance throughout the rotation.