UC Davis Medical Center Dietetic Internship (DI) Program Dates

  • 2024-2025 Class: Sept. 3, 2024 - Aug. 1, 2025
  • 2025-2026 Class: Sept. 15, 2025 - July 2, 2026

The 2025-2026 Class will complete a 10-month (42-week) program starting Sept. 15, 2025. The first week of the program is Orientation Week. After one week of general orientation, all interns begin with a food service management rotation. Following completion of the management experiences, interns begin rotations in clinical nutrition core, advanced clinical nutrition, ambulatory, and community nutrition. The sequence of each intern's schedule is different, but all interns will complete the following experiences:

Credit for Prior Learning

UC Davis Medical Center DI does not offer credit for prior learning or work experience.
Dietetic Internship Application

Food Service Management

Dietetic interns will spend four weeks in food service management rotations. Experiences may include:

  • Collaboration
  • Cost and Revenue
  • Decision Making
  • Food Costing
  • Food Production
  • Human Resources Management
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Menu Planning (Retail and Patient)
  • Quality Improvement
  • Recipe Development
  • Safety and Sanitation
  • Taste Testing
  • Teamwork

Clinical Nutrition Core

Dietetic interns will spend 12 weeks in clinical nutrition core rotations. Experiences may include the following areas:

Adult Critical Care

Dietetic interns will spend four weeks in critical care nutrition rotations. Experiences may include the following intensive care units:

Pediatric Acute Care

Dietetic interns will spend a minimum of two weeks in pediatric nutrition rotations. With additional pediatric practice hours possible as elective experience. Experiences may include some of the following areas:

Ambulatory Practice

Dietetic interns will spend four to eight weeks in UC Davis Medical Center ambulatory practices. Experiences may include the following areas:

Community Nutrition

Dietetic Interns will spend two to five weeks in community settings. Experiences may include some of the following areas:

  • Dialysis
  • Food Bank
  • Supplemental Program for Women Infants, and Children (WIC)

Elective Experience

Interns may spend up to two weeks completing electives. Experiences may include some of the following areas:

  • Adult Inpatient Specialty
  • Adult Specialty Clinics
  • Advanced Pediatrics
  • Outpatient Dialysis
  • Pediatric Specialty Clinics

Staff Relief

After demonstration of competence, interns complete a minimum of two weeks of staff relief experience in inpatient clinical nutrition. In general, interns spend up to five to six weeks in staff relief experience. The staff relief experience solidifies interns' knowledge, provides an opportunity to gain independence and reinforces practices for an entry-level dietitian. Interns apply knowledge learned throughout the internship including assessment, implementation of interventions, problem-solving, consideration of disease pathophysiology and documentation skills. Interns are supervised by an registered dietitian, who reviews and co-signs all documentation.

Didactics

Classroom time accompanies supervised practice. Interns spend approximately 165 hours in didactic class time throughout the year.

Wellness Time / Time Away

The program has schedule Winter and Spring Breaks for which the intern will be off. Interns may also receive time off for scheduled UC Holidays. Scheduled time away may vary based on the learning experiences.