Objective: To explore the disparity between number of students completing degrees in dietetics, students matched to internships, and current and projected field needs. Methods: An electronic survey covering a variety of factors potentially affecting internship accessibility was distributed to 251 internship program directors, 200 preceptors, and accreditation board, staff, and review members. Results: Of 193 total respondents, 60% agreed that accreditation competencies prepared dietetic interns well and that internship costs may hinder diversity among interns. Seventy-two percent of program directors (n=115) reported difficulties in preceptor recruitment and 56% reported difficulties in preceptor training/orientation. Conclusion: The overarching goal of ACEND®, dietetic internship programs, and alternative certification pathways should be finding solutions that will reduce the bottleneck of qualified dietetics students unable to begin an internship upon graduating and create structures growing the accrediting ability of the field, allowing program development and expansion to keep pace with the growing demand of credentialed employees.
","abstract_html":"<p>Objective: To explore the disparity between number of students completing degrees in dietetics, students matched to internships, and current and projected field needs. Methods: An electronic survey covering a variety of factors potentially affecting internship accessibility was distributed to 251 internship program directors, 200 preceptors, and accreditation board, staff, and review members. Results: Of 193 total respondents, 60% agreed that accreditation competencies prepared dietetic interns well and that internship costs may hinder diversity among interns. Seventy-two percent of program directors (n=115) reported difficulties in preceptor recruitment and 56% reported difficulties in preceptor training/orientation. Conclusion: The overarching goal of ACEND®, dietetic internship programs, and alternative certification pathways should be finding solutions that will reduce the bottleneck of qualified dietetics students unable to begin an internship upon graduating and create structures growing the accrediting ability of the field, allowing program development and expansion to keep pace with the growing demand of credentialed employees.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Moelter, Samantha"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["John Carbone","Alice Jo Rainville","Lydia Kret"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Dietetic Internship","Dietetics","Nutrition","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/844","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["John Carbone","Alice Jo Rainville","Lydia Kret"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Moelter, Samantha"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Dietetic Internship","Dietetics","Nutrition","Medicine and Health Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/844"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Objective: To explore the disparity between number of students completing degrees in dietetics, students matched to internships, and current and projected field needs. Methods: An electronic survey covering a variety of factors potentially affecting internship accessibility was distributed to 251 internship program directors, 200 preceptors, and accreditation board, staff, and review members. Results: Of 193 total respondents, 60% agreed that accreditation competencies prepared dietetic interns well and that internship costs may hinder diversity among interns. Seventy-two percent of program directors (n=115) reported difficulties in preceptor recruitment and 56% reported difficulties in preceptor training/orientation. Conclusion: The overarching goal of ACEND®, dietetic internship programs, and alternative certification pathways should be finding solutions that will reduce the bottleneck of qualified dietetics students unable to begin an internship upon graduating and create structures growing the accrediting ability of the field, allowing program development and expansion to keep pace with the growing demand of credentialed employees.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["What are the barriers affecting accessibility of dietetic internships?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["John Carbone","Alice Jo Rainville","Lydia Kret"],"dc:creator":["Moelter, Samantha"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Objective: To explore the disparity between number of students completing degrees in dietetics, students matched to internships, and current and projected field needs. Methods: An electronic survey covering a variety of factors potentially affecting internship accessibility was distributed to 251 internship program directors, 200 preceptors, and accreditation board, staff, and review members. Results: Of 193 total respondents, 60% agreed that accreditation competencies prepared dietetic interns well and that internship costs may hinder diversity among interns. Seventy-two percent of program directors (n=115) reported difficulties in preceptor recruitment and 56% reported difficulties in preceptor training/orientation. Conclusion: The overarching goal of ACEND®, dietetic internship programs, and alternative certification pathways should be finding solutions that will reduce the bottleneck of qualified dietetics students unable to begin an internship upon graduating and create structures growing the accrediting ability of the field, allowing program development and expansion to keep pace with the growing demand of credentialed employees.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/844"],"dc:subject":["Dietetic Internship","Dietetics","Nutrition","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"dc:title":["What are the barriers affecting accessibility of dietetic internships?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}