The UC Davis Medical Center Dietetic Internship (DI) offers an ideal setting for the Nutrition Therapy concentration. As a medical center-based program in a tertiary healthcare facility serving Northern and Central California, we have substantial resources regarding a diverse patient population, skilled clinical nutrition staff, and relationships with other health professionals within our teaching hospital environment.

We care for patients with complex medical and nutritional diagnoses. In addition, we benefit from affiliations within the Sacramento Valley area that provide community nutrition experiences, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Meals on Wheels, and the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. Most intern learning experiences occur at UC Davis Medical Center and its hospital-based clinics and Community Practice Groups (primary care). Community nutrition experiences are scheduled at selected sites in the Sacramento Valley area.

In-Person and Remote Learning

The majority of our program is onsite/in-person, with a small portion (less than 50%) considered “distance education” as defined by ACEND guidelines provided on July 17, 2023.

Our program utilizes a Learning Management System to provide training modules during orientation. Interns are expected to be onsite and are provided with department issued computer/laptop to complete these and any similar training modules that may be expected by some of our rotations (e.g., WIC Works during the WIC Community Nutrition rotation, etc.). As approved by the DI Director and/or DI Coordinator (and the primary preceptor of the rotation as applicable), such modules may be completed remotely by the intern with the expectation that material is reviewed with the primary preceptor and/or the module assesses for knowledge and completion of the training is recorded per organizational and/or program expectations.

Some of our rotations may include a telehealth visit experience. For the majority of these situations, the intern and the preceptor are in the same location. For a rotation that requires the intern, preceptor, and client to access remotely, e.g., Health Management Education’s evening/weekend online group class, then the intern is expected to stay online with the preceptor after the class is over/client leaves, and debrief with the preceptor.

Technology Requirements

In the event an intern accesses/completes training modules and/or portions of a supervised practice experiential learning activity remotely (and does not utilize the onsite Wi-Fi/internet provided in the UC Davis Health or UC Davis Campus facilities, and is not at a library that provides complementary access), they would need to ensure that they have a secure and adequate internet connection as outlined in the UC Davis Health Information Technology | Security | Key Security Policies (internal only).

As outlined on our UC Davis Medical Center Dietetic Internship resources under Computer/Internet Access, it is expected that dietetic interns will have access to a computer and internet at home while participating in the program. Estimated monthly costs, including utilities, are also provided on this webpage.

If prospective students/interns have additional questions about our program or about these expectations, they may contact us to inquire.