Written By: Kate Clark, from Nourishing Minds Nutrition and The Rooted Place

Hey there fellow nutrition lover!

Do you want to become a Registered Dietitian (RD)? Curious about your options for becoming an RD Thinking about going into a dietetic internship (DI)? Confused about wtf a dietetic internship even is?? I GOT YOU.

How are you feeling? Overwhelmed? Under-informed? Pulled in multiple directions?

I have been exactly (well, maybe not exactly) where you are standing right now. I remember feeling so lost on where to go and how to get there. All I knew is that I wanted to become an RD and I had the undergrad part completed. So, if that sounds like you; either done, or on your way to completing, your DPD certified undergraduate degree in nutrition and thinking about applying for a dietetic internship, then this is the blog post for YOU.

Today I’m specifically talking about the distance option for a dietetic internship. There are pros, cons, and so many details that I want you to know before you make a decision on which DI journey to venture into. This is going to be a lot but please hang in there. This is every bit of info that I needed when I was making my decision on the DI. So I thought it might help!

WTF IS A DIETETIC INTERNSHIP?

If you’re not sure, no worries, it took me until after I graduated undergrad and tons of clarifying conversations with RDs to truly figure it out. It boils down to an accredited program that meets all competencies required for eligibility to sit for the RD exam.

That means, before you can even shoot your shot at getting “RD” beside your name, you must complete a program that organizes your required 1200 supervised hours. These hours are split up into 3 separate rotations; culinary, community, and then clinical. Meaning, by the end of your hours, you will have substantial training and experience in each of these corners of dietetics. You can choose to do this full-time, or part-time.

But, even before this part happens, you must have your bachelor’s in nutrition sciences. Starting in 2025 you will also need to have a master’s degree to be accepted to a DI. This is extremely unfortunate because that means there will be yet another barrier for POC to enter this field- that’s a whole other blog post, and yes, I’ll write it.

So, let’s break that down into a to-do list to become an RD:

1. High school diploma

2. Bachelor’s degree in nutrition sciences

3. Master’s degree in nutrition (starting 2025)

4. Dietetic Internship completion (your 1,200 hours)

5. Pass the RD exam

These are 5 incredibly large mountains to climb and there are a ton of barriers along the way. But if you have the resources, privilege, time, and passion to become an RD, make it happen, sis.

LET’S FOCUS IN ON THE DIETETIC INTERNSHIP PART

There are TWO options you can experience the DI through; onsite or distance. Today, we’re focusing on the distance option. I feel the distance option of the DI is not talked about nearly as much as the more traditional, onsite option is talked about. It’s also the type of program I’m currently in!

You can think of the distance dietetic internship as a DIY option. Remember, the DI is where you accumulate your 1200 hours. You experience these hours through multiple locations, called “sites”. The person in charge is usually an RD, but not always, we call them “preceptors”. So, for the distance option, instead of going through a program that has all of your rotations and preceptors organized for you, you get to pick where you go. It gives you the opportunity to create your own experience.

PROS

Control over location
Control over experience
Option to grow in a community of your choice
More flexibility on program experience
More collaborative opportunities with your sites/preceptors
Option to highlight your specific interest and strengths
LOOKS AMAZING ON YOUR RESUME- other RDs understand what the distance DI option entails, meaning, they know it’s a lot more work and proves your incredible management, organizational, and communication skills!

CONS

Organizing it all by yourself
Recruiting preceptors
Being the middle man between your program directors and the preceptors/sites
Risk of not finding preceptors
Risk of preceptors dropping out
Risk of working with a not-so-legit professional

So, who would love this and who would hate this? These are MY opinions and suggestions based on what I have learned through my own experience, as well as what I have heard from my fellow RD and RD2B friends.

YOU MIGHT LOVE THE DISTANCE DI OPTION IF:

You already have connections within the field that you want to grow
You have the time to put in the work to organize it all
You are organized (take this lightly, I did it, and I’m not the most organized gal, normally)
You don’t mind hearing “no”
You have a life that is more important than the DI and you need flexibility to work around your non-negotiables
You are worried about not enjoying the rotations or preceptors you get assigned to
You know which part of dietetics you want to practice and focus your time on
You do not or cannot move locations

THE DISTANCE OPTION MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU IF:

You are fresh out of undergrad
You have no, or very few, connections within the field in your area
You do not feel organized enough to create this program for yourself
Want an easier application process
You have poor self-management skills
You don’t care about who or where you get assigned to

WHAT TO DO FIRST

MAKE A LIST of things that are important to you within your DI experience. This list might be short and obvious (get into a DI, high pass rate on the RD exam, nice program directors...) or this list might be more detailed (flexibility to prioritize being a father, scholarship opportunities, part-time and WFH options, focus on sustainability, opportunity to use my second language…

FIND YOUR POTENTIAL SCHOOLS and write them down. Create a google document and fill this out for each school that you’re serious about:

Name
Website link
Contact info of DI director
All requirements for their DI application and their deadlines
Anything else that sounds important or exciting to you

This document will be your home base.

Get familiar with their distance DI track requirement page on their website. They will all want different things from you in the application process. Some want videos, websites, interviews, some don’t allow interviews, they all want different amounts of money and have different options of how to get that money to them. And they all have different timelines.

Take a deep breath, we need you. You can do this.

Use their resources, tips, and support! DI directors know how difficult it is to put together a distance DI for yourself. They should be able to talk you through the how-to, offer support, and even make suggestions on what past interns have used as their sites. Ask to talk to Alumni! Graduates are usually happy to share advice because they know exactly what you are feeling right now. Take advantage of this and ask for it!

FIND YOUR PRECEPTORS & START ASAP: you must have your preceptors in place and committed before you apply to most schools…. I KNOW.

Sooooo yes, that means that if you don’t get accepted to any of the programs, this will all be scrapped. The good news? Making connections is never a waste of time. Ever!!!

Finding preceptors for yourself is by far the biggest time-suck of this whole process, but it’s also the most important FOR YOU. This is one of the biggest perks of the distance option, you get to create your own path through the individuals you choose to work with. Now, this is not going to turn out exactly how you want it to, but it will likely be a lot more personal to you than a traditional path would be.

MAKE (ANOTHER) LIST of the facilities/companies you are interested in, within the 3 categories of the dietetic internship: clinical, culinary, and community. These hyperlinks are from the program I am currently in and they give a great EXAMPLE of what most schools are looking for from each category.

Research the area that you want to work in and find anything that looks interesting to you that might fit in your categories. Write down any point of contact you can find and start reaching out and making connections.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

This is going to take a ton of patience
You will get a lot of no’s
You will need to reach out more than once
Sell your skills: the benefit of people accepting you as a DI is they get free work! Remind them of that (but try not to cringe while you do it.)
Make a real connection- this will take you places.
If they can’t help you ask if they know someone that can- this field is much smaller than you think and RDs know of other RDs.
If you get on the phone with an RD they will know what you are going through and have much better advice than the front desk will be able to offer.
Things might fall through, so have back up and again, create meaningful connections with everyone you speak to.

Find support through this process, reach out to old peers, practice LOADS AND LOADS of self-care, take breaks, start early and give yourself so much grace!

PLEASE reach out to me personally over at @TheRootedPlace for direct support, advice or more explanation. I would seriously love to spend time with you and help you find your way into your dreams. Slide on into my DMs, baby!

Xx Kate