The placements give students an opportunity to put their nutrition knowledge to use and develop the soft skills that are impossible to teach in a classroom. These internship rotations usually take place in hospitals, community clinics, and long-term care homes.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, hospitals have had to limit or cancel their upcoming student placements. This has left many dietetic interns in a challenging position, unable to graduate.

As a private practice dietitian, I wanted to do my part to help the community. I’m excited to announce that my practice will now have Student-Led Nutrition Sessions. It’s a win-win situation – the students gain valuable experience and you get the sense of satisfaction of helping out a student! And as a thank you for being part of the teaching process, if you participate in a student-led session, you’ll also receive a small discount.

Details of the Student-Led Sessions

Our Responsibilities

Privacy

As part of the student’s learning, the student and I will be discussing your health and nutrition information before and after the session over secure methods of communication. But all of the information that is collected during the sessions will remain private and confidential, and will not be shared with anyone else without your explicit consent.

Session Length

We know that your time is valuable, so we budget extra time in our appointments since the students are still learning. There may also be a short break in the middle of the session where I’ll ask you to head back to the virtual waiting room. This gives the student some time to review their plan with me. When the student is ready, I’ll add you back into the video call for the remaining part of the session.

Supervision

At this point in their internship, students have their nutrition knowledge down pat, but need real-world experience putting this knowledge into practice. Because of this, you might not hear much from me during the session. But don’t worry – I’ll always be in the session to make sure that the quality of care you’re receiving is uncompromised. If I see the need, I’ll step in to clarify any questions you may have. And because I’ll still be in the session, the appointment will still be covered by private health insurance if you have coverage.

Your Responsibilities

Be Understanding

They may seem nervous or uncertain, but that doesn’t mean that the information they’re providing you is incorrect. And remember – if there’s anything that needs correction, I’ll always step in.

Be Honest

Was something unclear? Please let the student know! It’s also important to be honest with your nutrition history so that the intern can develop the most accurate and realistic nutrition plan for you.

Additionally, as part of the student’s placement, I need to evaluate their performance. And although I can judge the clinical side of things, it’s helpful to get your feedback from the client’s perspective. After the session, you’ll receive an anonymous online survey just to get your input on how the student did. This is entirely voluntary, but very helpful for the student’s learning and greatly appreciated if you fill it out.

So how do you participate? Unfortunately, there are currently no student-led sessions available for this month. Contact me if you’d like to be notified when the next round of student-led sessions are available.

Thank you for being part of this process! And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email at hello@renitalam.com