Evaluation of a Dietetic Internship Program

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To conduct a comprehensive evaluation or a post-graduate dietetic internship program. Evaluation of dietetic internship programs is important and ongoing. Six months after the first graduating class from a newly developed comprehensive regional internship program, an external consultant was hired to evaluate the program from 4 perspectives. 1) The Primary Users: Dietetic interns, by determining the knowledge attained and skills acquired, and satisfaction with the program. 2) The Internal Processors: supervising Dietitians, by measuring their satisfaction with the program, and satisfaction with the interns. 3) Regulators: Internship Accreditation, by participating in the accreditation review process. 4) End Users: Employers, by determining whether graduates were employed, and whether they were prepared for employment. Self-administered questionnaires were developed using 5-point rating scales to measure intern and dietitian satisfaction with the program. 15 interns responded (100% response rate) and indicated a satisfaction rate of 78%. Out of the 56 dietitians, 43 responded (77% response) and indicated 70% satisfaction with the program and 74% satisfaction with the dietetic interns. The program was reviewed and received full accreditation status until the year 2001. Out of the 15 graduates, 12 were employed (80%) six months post-graduate. Permission to survey employers was granted by all of the graduates, and ratings from employers indicated that graduates met or exceeded qualifications for the positions applied for or obtained. Information received from the evaluation enabled revisions to the program and benefited all users of the program. This evaluation model emphasizes the importance of evaluating dietetic internship programs from all perspectives, including processors, regulators, internal and external users.