Rotations

Overview: Few dietetic internship programs are able to place their Interns at facilities in a centralized location where the internship program is housed. This is because these programs often located in metropolitan areas—with access to large hospitals and medical centers offering most  rotations to all interns in the program—are few and far between.  This makes it competitive for students seeking  internship placement. Per the ACEND® website, “competition is extremely  fierce". Creativity allowed development of this innovative and essential Program to meet increased needs in this very competitive dietetic internship environment.

For helpful comments from our graduates on how to succeed, please visit our Facebook Album “Grads Write How to Succeed–in ANY DI !  (GGDI website’s home page also has a link.) 

In addition, for Suggestions to Improve Your Chances at Getting a Dietetic-Internship Position, please visit ACEND’s website .

COVID-19: Because the Program ended by April, Interns were close to completing their rotations when the shelter-in-place requirements were enforced due to COVID-19. Interns were able to complete Program requirements and those who took the Exam, were successful!  However, because some facilities do not, from time to time, allow ANY health allied students on their campuses, ACEND has made allowances for these unknown times. Click here for Up-to-date notices from ACEND about COVID.

LIFE HACK: If you address every challenge in life under the assumption that everything always works out in the end, it usually does.

                                                         1000LifeHacks.com

This  can be paired with that everything in life is 99% perspiration and 1% intelligence (meaning tenacity ).

Locations:  The Golden Gate Dietetic Internship (GGDI)  Program identified opportunities with qualified, committed Preceptors at  facilities and organizations dispersed throughout the greater San Francisco-Bay  Area in counties such as, but not limited to,  Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, Marin,  Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Sonoma.

Locations are availed based on Facility and Preceptor availability, which can vary year to year. 

The GGDI program will try to place each intern in a location where rotations are all clustered together in ONE geographical area within reasonable driving distance where the Intern should  reside .

This means the rotations/facilities for each Intern should be in the  same general geographical area. For example, if an Intern was placed in  Mendocino County, the Intern will NOT be expected to go to a rotation in  Marin County; the Intern will receive most rotation experiences closer  to the town of Ukiah. (Please look at a map to understand the  example.)

More specifically as an example: an Intern in Mendocino County goes  to a clinical rotation at a hospital in Willits, a foodservice rotation at  a school district in Ukiah, an outpatient rotation in Ukiah, and so on.

Answers to often-asked questions:

• Interns mostly conduct rotations solo and not in groups/pairs--true for MOST dietetic internship programs!  (RDs and foodservice get very small offices and cannot fit in many interns)

• Rotation schedules can vary from intern to intern--all separate schedules defined by preceptor/site availability ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE  TO COMPLETE BY DECEMBER 2023

Before the Program commences, Interns will be assigned their geographical area location for housing needs in more than sufficient time before the Program starts .

Rotations for supervised practice takes place in clinical  organizations, foodservice facilities and community agencies. 

An Intern spends a duration in one facility type then “rotates” through the  schedule at other facilities, which are mainly within the same  geographic area. 

Rotation schedules are developed  based on Facility and Preceptor availability, which vary year to year and are distributed at orientation. In the real world, some preceptors are not thinking about intern schedules for the spring following the Spring Match...it's a little far off!

Because most facilities are NOT reachable by public transportation, a car is a necessity. Lastly, there may be a short rotation where the Intern will be required to commute a longer distance.

PLEASE NOTE:

In July 2022, the new ACEND accreditation Standards have permanently instituted a minimum of 1000 Supervised Practice hours. The above table reflected such accordingly.

Preceptorship: The GGDI Program recruited specific exemplary, qualified Preceptors to support both the  program goals and well-prepared Interns—so Interns may then excel in  entry-level dietetics.  These accomplished Preceptors and experienced Managers play an important, key role in educating Interns. Professional dietetic education relies on them to mentor and precept dietetic students to excel as practitioners in nutrition and dietetics. These supportive Preceptors are one of the valued  strengths of the Program.

It is important to remember Preceptors are volunteer mentors, are not paid by our Program, and contribute their professional skills and time to precept Interns to help our profession. Therefore, like other DIs, this program is developed  based on their availability. 

Preceptors across the country and ACEND want Interns to become independent, sooner than later. A mature, professional,  flexible and resilient outlook is key to success in ALL dietetic internship programs. 

Even though each location is different the Program thus far, has  been successful at matching Interns to Preceptors!