KADDI Keith & Associates Distance Dietetics Internship

Meeting 2 of Winter 2020

Week 4: 1/27/2021

Estimated attendance: 13 total

Guest Speaker: Sara Hallgren-Tillery

Focus: KADDI Internship

 

Program Director Sara Hallgren-Tillery, MA, RD, LD

[email protected]

Office Phone: 918-574-8598

 

Announcements: If you are interested in going to the Conference with the Academy, let us know on canvas and you may be eligible to be sponsored by us. Join us for a social hour this Friday night on Zoom.

 

Sara did an internship at St Louis University and went to the University of Iowa. Keith Associates has been accepting interns for the past four years. 

 

To become an RDN, you will need to complete a bachelor's degree, apply, and get accepted into a dietetic internship program. With the completion of the internship program, you will receive a verification statement. In 2024, it will be required to have a master's verification.

 

Internships today provide students with supervised practice and prepare for the RDN exam and further become competent to work as an RDN. The internship must be accredited by ACEND. Sara feels it is an exciting time to become a dietitian. RDN jobs are expected to grow 11% between 2018-2028. There are few RDNs in health care and an increased variety of the field of practice from private practice, sports, and health prevention focus. 

 

Sarah explains the deficit of interns happens because students put all of their energy into one internship program and do not get into a program. It is important that the programs you are applying for, meet their GPA requirements. Most internships are looking at a GPA of 3.0 or higher and feel it will get more competitive as we move towards a master's. Sara warns us to be careful of what is displayed on our social media. Be sure to include all of your experiences even if it is not directly nutrition-related because it can still show valuable skills. 

 

KADDI requires a 3.0 GPA. They use DICAS for applicants. She encourages students to apply to multiple internships and not only apply to one program due to the methods of the DND matching process.

 

DICAS tips include attaching only one general resume while making the personal statement specific for each program. KADDI wants professional references from professors who know students well. Once you submit the application, it is locked so be sure you are ready to submit it.

 

DND digital is a matching service that is used to match applicants to programs. Applicants rank programs and programs rank the applicants and matches 

 

Fun Fact: What is the most stolen food in the world? Cheese is the most stolen food in Europe because it is a high-end food.

 

With a distance internship like KADDI, you do not have to relocate and are able to choose full or part-time hours. You are responsible for choosing your sites; students typically choose places they are familiar with or where they have connections

 

Sandra Keith started Keith & Associates, Inc. in 1996 as a nutrition consulting business. She realized that she wasn’t able to access medications for patients. They created a pharmacy, partnered with “Durable Medical Equipment Company,” so they could better serve their clients. Sandra missed teaching and precepting so they developed the dietetic distance internship. 

 

Sara explains that the distance internship allows interns to complete their goals. Today, all of their interns are graduating on time. 

 

Fun Fact: Which nut is used to make dynamite? Peanuts are used to make dynamite because they are broken down into glycerol → nitroglycerin → dynamite

 

They have two tracks available. They have a full time that is 40 hours per week for six months or part-time that is about 20 or more hours per week for 12 weeks although they are very flexible with the part-time option. Interns may choose which track after they have been matched.

 

Their curriculum has pre-orientation simulations and case studies done at home. There is an Orientation for 3 days in Tulsa or may be virtual. They have 220 hours of food service, 120 hours of community, 400 of Nutrition Therapy, 160 hours of Business and Entrepreneurship concentration. There is also time spent building resources to be used at sites.

 

In the business and entrepreneurship rotation, interns will develop a business plan, develop a webpage and develop social media. The intern will be working with a preceptor in business. She feels there are a lot of valuable skills from this rotation that is applicable for many other career paths.

 

Internship graduation requirements include completing a minimum of 1000 hours including prior assessed learning credits. A minimum of 600 hours until 2022 standards must be on-site, professional hours. Interns will need to finish all assignments in the curriculum. The competencies will be very similar amongst all internships. KADDI offers prior assessed learning credits. They are awarded for prior learning experiences. Examples of prior assessed learning include menus written for facilities, special events planned, group teaching, etc. These PAL credits can be contributed to rotation sites. 

 

Fun Facts: Which president brought Mac-N-Cheese to the US? Thomas Jefferson went to Paris and brought mac-n-cheese back to the states.

 

Sara describes what to include with the DICAS application. Students should submit their rotation schedules. It is best to start with community or food service before clinical rotations if possible. Interns can split their rotations between two sites. Although they should not be split between more than two rotations so that preceptors can effectively review your work and experience.  The planned rotations do not affect your acceptance to KADDI.

 

KADDI has facility and preceptor forms. The students need to submit their contact information for the person responsible for signing legal contracts for students who do rotations there using the “facility form”.  Business and Entrepreneurship rotations may be found after you start your internship although you need the majority of the community, food service, and clinical sites planned before you begin the program.  On the KADDI website, there are examples of Rotation Calendars using an Excel spreadsheet. Be sure to communicate any days off with your preceptor. If students are looking for preceptors in the PNW, their website has an excel sheet to reference while students work on planning their program. 

 

It is difficult to find preceptors and it is easy for preceptors to say no during COVID. Sara encourages us to sell our story of contacting many preceptors and explaining that you are interested in being a dietitian. She says you really have to spend time speaking to preceptors. She says how rewarding it is to put together your program and locations. Students will only need to find up to four preceptors. Students can have the same preceptor or rotations at the same facility

 

KADDI has a master's degree partnership with the University of Alabama and the University of Central Arkansas, both for Masters of Science in Human Nutrition. Interns will be able to get financial assistance from either of the universities while doing a master's however, KADDI itself does not offer financial aid. 

 

KADDI provides all interns with a final exam to prepare for the RD exam. It is the same amount of questions at the same time.  KADDI provides study materials, speakers, social media study tips and tricks as well as feedback on the RD exam. KADDI’s current RD exam pass rate is 89% for full-time interns and 100% for part-time interns

 

Fun Fact: In the 1830s what was ketchup used for? They had tomato pills to help with indigestion and diarrhea.

 

How does KADDI keep contact with interns? Every week, interns will do a weekly summary where your preceptor will review your skills and professionality. They meet with interns every three weeks with a zoom call. In addition, there are monthly meetings with RD speakers.  

 

KADDI participates in second round matching and interns will complete the rotation calendar after the second round matching. They will do a second-round match if there are positions open. For non-degree seeking students, the cost of KADDI is around $10,895. There is an $895 enrollment fee that is nonrefundable at acceptance. The $10,000 is for the DI program and in addition, there are 9 credits from UCA.