M Health Fairview represents a collaboration between University of Minnesota Physicians, University of Minnesota Medical Center, and Fairview Health Services. Intern clinical rotations* occur at East Bank, West Bank, Southdale, Ridges, St. John's, and Fairview Community Health and Wellness Hub (previously St. Joseph's Hospital).
*Rotations refer to scheduled time for learning experiences at practice sites where interns work under the supervision and guidance of preceptors. Rotation order varies between interns, with the potential to overlap with another intern for a rotation or two.
Clinical – 22 weeks
The term “medical nutrition therapy” (MNT) was introduced in 1994 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to better articulate the nutrition therapy process. It is defined as the use of specific nutrition services to treat an illness, injury or condition and involves two phases:
- Assessment of the nutritional status of the client, and
- Treatment, which includes nutrition therapy, counseling and the use of specialized nutrition supplements
Interns will be in a variety of M Health Fairview hospitals and patient care units, including cardiology, diabetes, oncology, critical care, ICU, acute rehabilitation, solid organ or bone marrow transplant, bariatrics, pediatrics, and others. During clinical rotations, interns will be able to:
- Perform assessments/ reassessments for patients in a wide variety of settings and complexities
- Diagnose nutritional problems and create nutrition diagnosis statements (PES statements)
- Plan and implement nutrition interventions (including patient education), formulate a nutrition prescription, establish goals
- Monitor and evaluate the nutritional problem, its causes, signs and symptoms and the effect of the nutritional interventions
- Provide patient-centered, age-specific and culturally-competent nutritional care for patients in an acute care and outpatient setting
- Chart in electronic medical records
- Work with multi-disciplinary teams
Three weeks of practicum experiences in the acute care setting will be required after the completion of all clinical rotations.
Foodservice Systems & Management – 4 weeks
Dietetic interns will spend four weeks within Nutrition Services at a M Health Fairview site. They will participate in the various facets of foodservice systems and management, such as food production, food service, retail operations and human resource management. An intern project includes the planning, marketing and implementation of a theme meal within the retail area.
Community – 5 weeks
Five weeks of community experiences may include rotations at DaVita Kidney Care, Hy-Vee Supermarkets, Public Schools, The Aliveness Project, U of MN Extension, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Programs, and other community wellness settings. Rotation experiences include nutrition education and behavior modification strategies, development and implementation of health and nutrition topic materials, and design of activities related to healthy eating for wellness and exercise performance.