The past 4.5 years of university have been gruelling. Not just because of the endless hours of papers, assignments, studying, and tests, but due to the fact that becoming a Dietitian was just a goal... or a "dream" might be a better way of thinking of it.
In Ontario, dietetic internships are not guaranteed for Nutrition majors. What this means is that during the last year of your degree, you get to apply for dietetic internships &/or masters/practicum programs along with the other 70 students in your class, and other nutrition students who are completing nutrition programs at other institutions. These two options are highly competitive and only have a limited number of positions available for students. Less than 50% of nutrition grads who apply for post-degree internships are actually selected. The problem with this is that in order to become a dietitian you MUST complete BOTH a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university program and the supervised practical experience that a dietetic internship/practicum provides. This caused undergrad to be extremely competitive .. in terms of trying to volunteer the most, and get the better grades in comparison to classmates. I have always been competitive, but this was to a whole new level. Looking back on my degree, I do wish that that we could have compared ourselves less, and not felt the need to volunteer at 10 different places "just so the resume for applications would look great," but not for a second do I regret transferring to the University of Guelph to complete my nutrition degree. I have met people who have changed my life (mainly for the better), and have discovered many passions that I never knew existed. Enough of the background.. you are probably wondering how this is related to the title of this entry. Over the past 4 months, I have been attempting to figure out this next step in my career goal. That is getting an internship or masters/practicum program acceptance so that I can become a dietitian! I decided to apply to both options to see where I would best "fit." I am beyond happy to say that after 4.5 years of university, and all the stress and anxiety of having 5 interviews in the span of one week, I have been offered and officially have accepted an internship! Starting September, I will be a dietetic intern with the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP)! I am going to have to make sure I have plenty of warm winter clothes...
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Sara FriedrichCanadian Registered Dietitian
Eating healthy isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle Archives
June 2018
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