Dietetic Internship Inaugural Cohort Completes Clinical & Food Service Management Rotation

The Dietetic Internship’s Site Preceptor Pathway (SPP) cohort of inaugural interns at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center (CFVMC) recently completed their clinical and food service management rotations under the supervision of Meredith College faculty member Christine Battle, Clinical Educator. 

Located in Fayetteville, N.C., this new partnership with Cape Fear provides Meredith students with full-time supervised practice in a hospital setting. 

“Partnering with a teaching hospital like CFVMC has given our interns a unique opportunity to develop professionally and personally,” said Battle. “The growth that I witnessed over several short weeks has been amazing. I am appreciative of the support from the CFVMC Clinical Nutrition Team to ensure that our students have a robust and rewarding experience.” 

This collaboration between the Dietetic Internship (DI) and CFVMC has enabled students to gain hands-on experience in a hospital environment, better preparing them for their future careers in the field of dietetics.

The teaching hospital environment at CFVMC allowed students unique opportunities to meet supervised practice requirements. Food service management interns completed projects such as planning an autumn-themed cafeteria meal and presenting training material they created to food service personnel. 

Clinical interns created nutrition education material for oncology patients. They presented case studies on complex patient issues, including a literature review, end-of-life nutrition support, and septic shock’s nutritional impact on a patient with diabetes.  

“This partnership was developed from a mutual relationship with Cape Fear Valley Medical Center Food and Nutrition Services and Meredith College,” said DI Program Director Cathie Ostrowski. “They were already valued partners and preceptors for our dietetic internship. We approached them about the partnership and they immediately saw value in supporting dietetic interns on a more regular basis.”

Feedback from students in the inaugural cohort has been positive.

“The staff and my preceptors have been amazing at making me feel welcomed and comfortable and it has been great seeing different areas of the hospital. I know I will be a well-rounded dietitian because of my experiences,” said Gabrielle Veauthier.

Suzanna Gracyk feels confident in her skills after completing her clinical rotation at CFVMC. 

“The hospital provides many opportunities to interact with patients with diverse nutritional needs, and my preceptor and staff dietitians were more than willing to guide us interns and share their knowledge with us,” said Gracyk.

Jessica Faulkner appreciated opportunities to build her skills in a variety of areas.

“Cape Fear had many amazing opportunities to get out of your comfort zone and learn from a variety of specialties in the clinical realm (pediatrics, MICU/CICU/SICU, NICU, oncology, Longterm Acute Care, surgery, and renal patients),” said Faulkner. “As my first rotation, I felt very appreciative to have such a great experience to start my dietetic internship off strong with such knowledgeable staff and preceptors at this site.”