Perfect! Radford University’s Nutrition and Dietetics program achieves 100 percent internship acceptance rate – again

For the fourth consecutive year, 100% of seniors in Radford University’s Nutrition and Dietetics program applying to accredited dietetic internships have been accepted and placed in prestigious programs throughout the United States.

These placements are part of the credentialing process to become registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN). The competitive 1,200-hour supervised practices span for approximately one year and lead to eligibility to take the national RDN exam, administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).

“Registered dietitian nutritionists are the food and nutrition experts who can translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living,” said Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics Mary Jean Miller, who also noted the national internship acceptance rate across the United States for 2019 was 66 percent, according to the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).

The Radford University students and their internship programs are:

• Alexis Buchan – Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship, Blacksburg, Virginia;
• Erica Garst – Tulane University Dietetic Internship, New Orleans, Louisiana;
• Morgan Kelley – Priority Nutrition Care, Distance Dietetic Internship, Boston, Massachusetts;
• Kelsey Spitzer – Wellness Workdays Dietetic Internship combined master’s program, Hingham, Massachusetts;
• Kasey Yost – West Virginia University Dietetic Internship combined master’s program, Morgantown, West Virginia; and
• Katherine Zebrowski – Keiser University Master of Science in Nutrition with Distance Learning Internship, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Two first-time applicants from the Class of 2019 were also placed: They are:

• Anna Ziegler - University of Maryland College Park; and
• Agape Gooden - University of Virginia Health System.

The Radford University Nutrition and Dietetics curriculum, housed in the College of Education and Human Development, is designed to prepare students for careers as registered dietitians/registered dietitian nutritionists (RD/RDN).

The program provides students with the core knowledge requirements defined by ACEND. Graduates find abundant employment possibilities in public service, private practice, wellness programs and research, as well as medical and healthcare settings.

Registered dietitians are currently helping other medical professionals in caring for individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“RDNs are contributing to patient care as they work in hospital ICUs with critically ill patients,” Miller explained. “Most patients in an ICU, including mechanically ventilated patients, will have nutrition and hydration delivered through feeding tubes or in some cases directly into the vein. RDN’s are essential to ensuring that the nutrition prescription is appropriate to meet the needs of each patient to facilitate recovery.”

To learn more about the Radford University Nutrition and Dietetics program, visit https://www.radford.edu/content/cehd/home/hhp/academics/nutrition-dietetics.html.