Penrose-St. Francis Health Services has conducted a dietetic internship program since 1981. The dietetic internship is a nine month program offering foodservice management and clinical and community experiences. Beginning with the class of 2010-11, the internship will provide a concentration in Medical Nutrition Therapy in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, but will continue to offer community and foodservice experiences to achieve general competency (see Rotations for a complete description).  The internship is supervised and administered by experienced, onsite registered dietitians within the Nutrition Services Department at Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

The internship program participates in the April computer match through D&D Digital Systems. One class of four to six interns is accepted annually. The class starts in early September and graduates in mid-June. The goal of the internship program is to provide the student with the experience and qualifications to become a competent, entry-level registered dietitian and an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The program is currently granted accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the Academy), 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995, 312-899-0040.

ACEND is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation of the United States Department of Education. The next site visit will be in 2019.

Contact Information:
Suzanne Logan, MS,RD
Dietetic Internship Coordinator
719-776-5900