Dietetic Internship Program
James J. Peters Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Dear Applicant,
Welcome to the James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJPVAMC) Dietetic Internship Combined with a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Nutrition at New York University (NYU). We hope you will find the answers to all of your questions while reviewing our site. You must be a U.S. citizen to participate in our dietetic internship program. You also must apply to NYU at application time and take a minimum of 15 graduate credits in clinical nutrition at NYU during the 12 month JJPVA dietetic internship.
The JJPVA Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). It was re-established in 1982 as a combined Master’s Degree program. Interns are in rotation four days per week and attend graduate school at NYU ~ 1-2 late afternoon/evenings per week during the year-long dietetic internship. The Master’s Degree can then be completed full-time after completion of the 12 month dietetic internship. Most interns complete the 34 credit MS in Clinical Nutrition in one additional semester after the internship.
The JJPVAMC is a tertiary care medical center that provides a broad range of inpatient and outpatient health care services. It is strategically affiliated with three of the premier academic medical institutions in New York City, including Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Mount Sinai Hospital, the Hospital for Special Surgery, Columbia Medical School and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. JJPVAMC provides academic support for medical students, resident training programs, and a number of additional allied health care training programs, as well as providing state-of-the-art medical expertise for the benefit of our Veteran patients. Our Nutrition and Hospitality Service Center (N&HSC) provides quality nutritional care through its efficient foodservice section, highly respected clinical nutrition care, and extensive outpatient education programs. Dietitians are consultants to professional, administrative, and medical staff. They coordinate nutrition intervention services with total patient care in both acute and primary managed care environments by assessing nutritional status, developing nutrition care plans, and recommending modalities for achieving nutritional goals.
The internship is a very rigorous 12-month program with a concentration in Medical Nutrition Therapy. Successful completion of the dietetic internship program qualifies you to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians, which is administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. As a hospital-based internship, approximately three-fourths of the supervised-practice is spent in clinical rotations (inpatient and outpatient) and the remaining time is spent in food service management, community and culinary nutrition rotations. As a VA hospital, our patient population is very homogeneous - it is made up of primarily adult men. Despite woman’s health services being enhanced at JJPVA, dietetic interns have limited exposure to women and children, and little, if any time, is spent in non-traditional rotations such as sports nutrition, private practice, etc. If non-traditional areas of practice and women and children are areas of interest, you might find that this internship is not a good fit for you. Applications are only accepted via the Dietetic Internship Centralized Application System (DICAS) and all applicants must apply to NYU’s graduate school at the same time they apply to JJPVA. Applicants must also register online for computer matching through D & D Digital. Details about the application process may be found on the JJPVA Internship "Application Information" page. If you have any questions unanswered by our website, you may contact me by e-mail to jean.leitch@va.gov. The JJPVA Dietetic Internship Program begins in mid- August and ends in early August of the following year.
Thank you for your interest in our program.
Sincerely,
Jean Curran-Leitch, MS, RD, CDN
Dietetic Internship Director
Nutrition and Hospitality Service Center (120)
James J. Peters VA Medical Center
130 West Kingsbridge Road
Bronx, New York 10468
(718) 584-9000 ext. 6845
