UIndy launches dietetics internship program
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The University of Indianapolis’ Kinesiology, Health and Sport Sciences Department is launching a Dietetics Internship Program. The university says the program will help to address national shortages of registered dietitians.
The program offers students 1,200 hours of practice in food service management, community nutrition and clinical nutrition, and graduates will also be able to experience a sports nutrition concentration. DIP Coordinator and Assistant Professor Brian Reagan says there aren’t enough opportunities for students.
“About 5,000 students graduate each year with the required Dietetics Curriculum, but approximately 2,000 people won’t get the required Supervised Practice hours because there simply aren’t enough programs,” said Reagan.
The university says the new program will address the need with students benefiting from local placements and a network that can be individually customized from sports to hospitals in the University of Indianapolis Health Pavilion’s Nursing Simulation Lab.
“The DIP experience we’re offering is unlike anything else in the Midwest,” said Reagan. “We plan to partner with athletic teams here in the Amateur Sports Capital of the World and work on-campus with UIndy athletes as well.”
Applications are now being accepted for the first DIP cohort, which begins in the fall.