How to Gain Dietetic Experience as a Nutrition Student
When preparing for a dietetic internship, you might be wondering how to gain dietetic experience as a nutrition student. It may even be tempting to do a few volunteer hours here and there to meet a program’s volunteer hour requirement.
At KBDI, we value QUALITY over quantity and don’t have a minimum number of volunteer hours or professional experience required. Instead of volunteering for a few hours here and there at a bunch of different organizations, consider an ongoing volunteer or paid position that spans several months.
We recommend cultivating experiences that provide you with practical skills that will help you succeed in the internship. For example, working as a virtual assistant for a private practice dietitian will help you develop your marketing skills. Volunteering with a community cooking class will provide you with teaching and professional speaking experience.
When you focus on high quality experiences, you will also foster stronger connections and build a network of potential preceptors.
We also offer Prior Assessed Learning Credit, which means that you could receive up to 80-hours off of your rotations for prior experiences.
Continue reading our blog post to discover exactly how to gain dietetic experience as a nutrition student.
Community Opportunities
There are endless opportunities to gain experience in the community setting. Some options include:
- Lead classes or prepare meals/boxes at Food Pantry or Food Resource Center
- Deliver meals for Meals on Wheels
- Work at a Community Garden
- Volunteer or work as a Nutrition Educator for EFNEP or local program
- Volunteer at a non-profit related to medical access or nutrition education
- Work at a training table for collegiate athletes
Clinical Opportunities
- Diet Tech or Diet Aide
- Medical Scribe
- Volunteer Program at Local Hospital
- Translator at community clinic or hospital
- Medical Assistant or CNA
- Physical Therapy Aide
Foodservice Opportunities
When looking for experience in foodservice, we recommend opportunities that will help you gain confidence in patient interactions or the management aspect of foodservice. Possible volunteer and work opportunities include:
- Diet Tech or Aide
- School Nutrition or Summer Meal Program Volunteer
- Food Server in Nursing Home or Hospital
- Manager Role in Restaurant or Cafe
- Food Pantry or Food Resource Center Volunteer
Business Opportunities
If you’re interested in gaining experience in business or private practice, there are endless opportunities. There are many private practice dietitians looking to hire nutrition students for a few hours a week. Sometimes these are paid opportunities and sometimes they are volunteer opportunities in exchange for mentorship.
- Social Media Manager
- Virtual Assistant
- Blog Writer/Content Developer
- Leadership Role in Student Club or Organization
- Ghost Writer or Copy Editor
- Work for a food-brand or supplement company
- Assist with a nutrition start-up
Mentorship Opportunities
If you’re looking for mentorship and guidance in the field of dietetics, RD Mentor is another great option to gain experience and mentorship.
Diversify Dietetics also hosts a mentor program for nutrition students of color. Both opportunities provide nutrition students with learning objectives and support with developing a career path in dietetics.
You might also be interested in checking out our blog post all about how to make money as a nutrition student:
12 Jobs to Make Money As a Dietetics Student
There are endless opportunities to gain experience in the field of nutrition and dietetics. At KBDI, we look for prospective interns that have had meaningful volunteer and work experiences. We are interested in the skills that you have gained, rather than the quantity of hours.