Central Texas VA Medical Center
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Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System Dietetic Internship Program! As a newly developed stand-alone Dietetic Internship (DI) program, we are currently considered to be in candidacy for accreditation status as granted by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), the sole accrediting agency for nutrition and dietetic education. Although we are a brand-new VA-sponsored dietetic internship program with our first class of interns starting in August 2024, we have served as a rotation site for dietetic interns through an affiliate program for over 40 years and therefore have extensive experience precepting and training the future leaders in the field of dietetics.
Our 46 week dietetic internship program is primarily hospital-based and provides experience in Medical Nutrition Therapy, food service and clinical management, as well as community nutrition. The majority of supervised practice will occur at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center located in Temple, TX which boasts a full-service teaching hospital with state-of-the-art education and research facilities on-site. Additional rotation experiences will also be available in Waco, TX at the Doris Miller Medical Center as well as at our community based outpatient clinics (if desired by the intern) such as the large multi-specialty clinic located in Austin, TX. To facilitate learning, interns will also participate in a weekly didactic review class to further prepare them for their supervised practice rotations as well as offer them the opportunity to learn from a variety of guest speakers and field-trip experiences.
The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) provides care to more than 250,000 Veterans in over 39 counties and is a level 1A (high acuity) VHA center facilitating over 5,400 inpatient admissions and 1.3 million outpatient visits annually. CTVHCS provides training opportunities unique to the Veteran population, including a 40-bed psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program specializing in Military Sexual Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Unit (1 of only 12 in the nation), and Complimentary and Integrative Health training in functional nutrition as part of VA’s Whole Health Program.
The primary population of our patients are adults, often males, therefore applicants should have an interest in serving this population. Note however, CTVHCS serves the third largest women’s VA population and therefore our site has a robust Women’s Nutrition Clinic and offers nutrition care specific to their varying needs including medical nutrition therapy for pregnancy, lactation, PCOS, general weight loss, and behavioral health along with eating disorder treatment led by our Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. As part of our Women, Infants and Children (WIC) rotation, you will be provided with the opportunity to work with the pediatric population but please understand that there is limited exposure to this age group in our internship program. Please also note in order to apply to our program you must have already completed a master’s degree.
Benefits to our interns:
- There is no fee associated with our dietetic internship program
- Interns in our program will receive a stipend (currently set at $15/hour) which is paid throughout the course of the dietetic internship. This is intended to help off-set the cost of living during their time dietetic internship program
- Interns will receive paid federal holidays and vacations
- We have a small class size set at 6 interns maximum allowing for individual attention from not only the Dietetic Internship Director but also 1:1 training from preceptors during supervised practice rotations
- We have a very dedicated staff of highly qualified dietitians who are eager to train dietetic interns
- Here at CTVHCS our dietitians and dietetic interns are highly respected by the medical staff and work at the top of our scope of practice
- Interns have their own workspace including computers with high-speed internet and complete access to the electronic medical record (no paper charts at the VA)
- The CTVHCS DI Program will assist you in finding employment within the government or private sector. As a VA dietetic intern, you will be afforded the opportunity to utilize Health Professional Trainee (HPT) hiring flexibilities to work for the VA in approximately 150 VA Medical Centers across the country
If you have any further questions regarding the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System Dietetic Internship Program or are interested in applying to our program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Autumn Taylor, MS, RDN
CTVHCS Dietetic Internship Director
254-743-0634
Autumn.Taylor1@va.gov
Open House: Each year, the CTVHCS Dietetic Internship Program hosts Open House sessions which provide attendees with the opportunity to learn all about our program as well as the CTVHCS. Two informational sessions are planned for this year. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Autumn.Taylor1@va.gov at least one week prior to the event. If you would like an in-person visit, please contact the DI director for arrangement.
Virtual Open House Dates
Wednesday, October 23, 2024: 1:00pm-2:00pm CST
Friday, December 13, 2024: 12:00pm-1:00pm CST
*To get the most out of this event, please review the information posted on the program's website beforehand*
Important Dates for Applicants for the 2025 - 2026 Class:
Application Deadline: January 15, 2025
Accreditation
The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System Dietetic
Internship Program has been granted candidate status by
The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and
Dietetic of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190
Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (312) 899-0040 ext. 5400.
Http://www.eatrightPRO.org/ACEND.
