Gaining experience in dietetics is an important component of your preparation for supervised practice in dietetics. Experience better informs your decision to pursue training in dietetics,builds on foundation knowledge, and assists with your skill development in key areas of dietetics education.

Supervised practice program directors will evaluate applications for evidence of breadth and depth of dietetics-related experiences. It is wise to build a strong portfolio of experiences prior to applying to supervised practice.

DNS allows for field experiences to be completed for academic credit through NS 4020 Supervised Fieldwork. Opportunities in clinical nutrition, long term care and management have been developed for dietetics students looking to grow their portfolio of experience while on campus. Guidelines for each opportunity are available here.

Student Supervisor: Clinical R.D. at inpatient healthcare facility. (Note: Students need to find a student supervisor. Consider contacting Food and Nutrition Departments at local hospitals in your areas. If you need ideas, speak with Emily Gier.)
Instructor: Emily Gier, MBA, R.D.

NS 4020 –Supervised Fieldwork
Grade option: S/U for 1 credits/semester depending on time commitment (45-60 hours total = 1credit; experience may be carried out fall/spring semesters or over the summer.I.Description of Study: student will work under the supervision of clinical R.D. at inpatient healthcare facility to participate in delivery of nutrition care.

Learning objectives: develop an understanding and experience in clinical nutrition services; gain understanding and experience and develop skills in the following areas:

  • Nutrition screening
  • Nutrition assessment
  • Identifying nutrition problems
  • Nutrition Interventions, including nutrition education and or counseling and understanding and implementing special diets
  • Patient interviewing (such as with screening, assessment, meal rounds)
  • Menu planning & implementation

Activities: Through shadowing, observations and/or participation with R.D. activities may include but are not limited to the following

  • Patient care planning (screening, assessment, patient rounds and patient care meetings)
  • Medical record review (for nutrition care process, quality assurance/improvement activities)
  • Patient interviews (for nutrition care planning, QA/PIor other)
  • Patient/resident meal rounds and/or calorie counts and/or quality assurance activities
  • Nutrition education material review and/or development
  • Diet manual review
  • Review of policy and procedures for nutrition services
  • Review of nutrition care manual
  • Attend nutrition services meetings such as nutrition support committee, nutrition in-services

Previous Coursework related to proposed study: NS1150, NS1220, and NS 2470

Time commitment (avg. hrs/wk): 4-8 hrs/wk X 8 weeks

  • Preparation and assignment –up to 4 hours
  • Meeting with instructor –as needed
  • Library –as needed
  • Research (for 4010 only)
  • Placement –~ 50 hours total

Product of study: Portfolio of skills developed as a result of supervised fieldwork experiences.

Evaluation:

  • Who will evaluate? Student supervisor will verify that student successfully completed agreed upon activities and assigned tasks. Please email instructor at end of experience to confirm (may email during experience as needed).
  • How will grade be determined? Student will meet with instructor by the end of second week of classes in fall semester to review portfolio.

Examples of NS 4020 Field Experiences:

  • Nutrition and fitness: Advanced nutrition students serve as nutrition counselors to student athletes and members of local fitness clubs
  • Community nutrition: Students work with local Cooperative Extension professionals and others in developing and pilot testing educational programs for adults and children.
  • Nutrition and business: Students intern with a local software firm to learn about developing and testing food composition data bases, dietary assessment instruments and food management programs for use by the health care industry.
  • Nutrition and health care: Students examine how nutritionists and other health care practitioners treat and counsel patients with different condition and the many factors that influence how these professionals conduct their work.

Guidelines for NS 4020:

  • The experience must be planned in advance with a faculty member and have explicit goals and expected outcomes.
  • The experience must have ongoing faculty involvement in all phases through regular conferences in person, by phone, or by e-mail.
  • The experience must have a reflective component, such as analysis of a journal or systematic record of the experience to allow the student to consider feelings and attitudes about the experience as well as understandings  about applications of classroom learning to practice.
  • The student's work must be evaluated by the faculty member and the bases on which the grade will be determined must be agreed on in advance. Grades may be based on journals, papers, oral presentations, input from field supervisors, and/or other materials developed as part of the experience. The number of credits must be determined in advance. For 1 academic credit, the student should be working in the placement or on materials relevant to the placement an average of 3-4 hours per week for 14 weeks. This time is in addition to that spent with the faculty member.
  • Register for NS 4020 online. Before the form is submitted, the student and the faculty member should discuss details and outline the agreement for the content of field work. Once the form is submitted, the faculty member and the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Division of Nutritional Sciences will approve it online. There is a 4 credit maximum per semester. NOTE - IMPORTANT PREREQUISITE: Before NS 4020 can be taken for a letter grade, the course must first be taken as S/U, the student may then request to take the course for a letter grade if they choose. They can also take it again as S/U.

Other Field Experiences: The Urban Semester Program in New York City is another excellent opportunity to gain field experience. Information about this program is available through the Human Ecology Career Development Center located at 162 MVR Hall on Cornell campus.

 

NS 4020-Supervised Fieldwork with Beechtree Care Center

Student Supervisor: Nancy Peckenpaugh, MSEd, R.D., CDN, CDE
Instructor: Emily Gier, MBA, R.D., CDN

Grade option: S/U for 1-2 credits/semester depending on time commitment (45-60 hours total = 1 credit; experience to be carried out over fall/spring or summer semesters). Hours typically completed during the day on Wednesdays, Thursday afternoons and Fridays.

Instructions: Students will apply for supervised fieldwork experience through the student supervisor (npeckenpaugh@beechtreecenter.com). Students will be selected as appropriate by the supervisor and will review and agree to the terms of the fieldwork experience before submitting NS 4020 request for special study paperwork. After both the supervisor and student agree to expectations for the semester, students will request a meeting with the instructor and enroll as outlined below. The request must be completed by the second week of classes in the semester the experience is taking place.

As a volunteer in a health care facility, students will need to be cleared by employee health (including a PPD),complete a facility orientation and sign a confidentiality statement. Additionally, student volunteers will need to abide by the facility dress code that requires professional clothing(no sleeveless tops, shirts, dresses) and closed-toe, closed-heel footwear.

I. Description of Study: student will work under the supervision of R.D. at long-term care facility to participate in delivery of nutrition care.

A) Learning objectives:

Develop an understanding and experience in long term care nutrition services. Gain understanding and experience and develop skills in the following areas:

  • Nutrition screening
  • Nutrition assessment/care planning
  • Identifying nutrition problems
  • Nutrition Interventions, including nutrition education and or counseling and understanding and implementing special diets
  • Resident interviewing (such as with screening, assessment, meal rounds and dehydration)
  • Menu planning and implementation

B) Activities: Through shadowing, observations and/or participation with R.D. activities may include but are not limited to the following:

  • Resident care planning (screening, assessment, resident care meetings)
  • Medical record review(for nutrition care process, quality assurance/improvement activities)
  • Resident interviews (for nutrition care planning, QA/PI or other)
  • Resident meal rounds and/or calorie counts and/or quality assurance activities
  • Nutrition education material review and/or development
  • Diet manual review
  • Review of policy and procedures for nutrition services
  • Attend nutrition services meetings and/or in-services

II. Previous Coursework related to proposed study: NS 1150, NS 1220, and NS 2470

III. Time commitment (avg. hrs/wk): Fall/Spring: 3-6 hours/week X 14 weeks; Summer:5-6 hrs/wk X 8 weeks

  1. Preparation and assignment –~ 6 hours
  2. Meeting with instructor –as needed
  3. Library –as needed
  4. Research (for 4010 only)
  5. Placement –~ 50-84 hours total, depending on credits

IV. Product of study: Portfolio of skills developed resulting from supervised fieldwork experiences.

V. Evaluation:

  1. Who will evaluate? Student supervisor will verify that student successfully completed agreed upon activities and assigned tasks. Please email instructor at end of experience to confirm (may email during experience as needed).
  2. How will grade be determined? Student will meet with instructor by the end of second week of classes in fall semester to review portfolio.

Student Supervisor: Michele Lefebvre, R.D., CDN
Instructor: Emily Gier, MBA, R.D., CDN

Instructions: Students will apply for supervised fieldwork experience through the student supervisor. Students will be selected as appropriate by the supervisor and will review and agree to the terms of the fieldwork experience before submitting NS 4020 request for special study paperwork. After both the supervisor and student agree to expectations for the semester, students will request a meeting with the instructor and complete the NS 4020 request for special study paperwork as outlined below. The request must be completed by the second week of classes in the semester the experience in taking place.

NS 4020 –Supervised Fieldwork
Class number –determined each semester
Grade option: S/U for 1 credit/semester (3-5 hours/week = 1 credit) Experience to be carried out on-campus, fall or spring semester.

Description of Study: Student will work under the supervision of the RD for Cornell Dining to complete tasks and projects with a concentration in nutrition education and/or food service.

Learning objectives: Develop skills and knowledge in many aspects of nutrition, marketing and communications, as well as how nutrition is involved within a food service and business atmosphere.

A) Activities:
Nutrition Education Concentration

Research and development of successful approaches in informing and educating students, staff, or other parties about nutrition and wellness.

Development and implementation of food/nutrition demonstration.

Participate in other food/nutrition demonstrations.

Research of current trends in nutrition, wellness, and food products in the university dining setting.

Foodservice Concentration

Learn basic skills in foodservice management and how it applies to the dietetics field.

Shadow RD in various capacities to learn experiences of a culinary and foodservice dietitian.

Evaluation of business reports, sales, and product movement.

Complete dining observation tool to review dining operations. Develop skills around foodservice management and systems, including menu review, recipe development, foodservice operation, and nutrient analysis.

I. Previous Coursework related to proposed study: NS 1150 plus two additional nutrition courses.

II. Time commitment (avg. hrs/wk): 3-5 hrs/wk during fall or spring semester

  1. Preparation and assignment –up to 15 hours total
  2. Meeting with instructor –as needed
  3. Library –as needed
  4. Research (for 4010 only)
  5. Placement –45-75 hours total
  6. Other (specify)

III. Product of study: Portfolio of skills developed as a result of supervised fieldwork experiences.

IV. Evaluation:

  1. Who will evaluate? Student Supervisor will verify that student successfully completed agreed upon activities and assigned tasks.
  2. How will grade be determined? Students will meet with instructor at end of semester to present portfolio. Student will contact instructor before end of classes to schedule portfolio presentation.

Contact us at dpd@cornell.edu