35th Anniversary Spotlight: Nutrition and Dietetics MPH
A first of its kind in the state of Florida, the USF College of Public Health began offering a MPH concentration in nutrition and dietetics to students in 2016.
The MPH concentration in nutrition and dietetics has two components: the online MPH in nutrition and dietetics and the integrated MPH/dietetic internship.
The MPH in nutrition and dietetics on-line program examines medical nutrition therapy, nutrition education, community practice and program evaluation, management and leadership, ethical standards and practice, and theoretical frameworks and models.
Students who complete the program, in conjunction with an accredited dietetic internship by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and successfully pass the registration exam for dietitians, can practice as a registered dietitian nutritionist in multiple areas of population health.
The integrated MPH/dietetic internship is a 20-month program that requires a minimum of 1,200 hours of supervised practicum falling into three categories: clinical, community and food service.
Clinical rotation partners include Tampa General Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center and John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Food service experiences will also take place at Tampa General Hospital.
However, it’s the population health focus and international experience that Dr. Theresa Crocker, assistant professor and director of the nutrition and dietetic program, says sets the program apart from others.
“We have a public health focus and population health frame for it,” Crocker said. “So, interns get to do a lot of unique rotations, for example they intern at Meals on Wheels, Feeding Tampa Bay, The Dairy Council, USF Student Health Services, the Florida Department of Health, Geriatric Wellness and Research Week, and with registered dietitians who are entrepreneurs in private practice.”
According to Crocker, the profession as a whole is moving toward requiring a minimum of a master’s degree for entry level positions, and soon will require a graduate degree to sit for the registration exam.
“We are well ahead of the curve already, having an integrated program, because our graduates will not only have an MPH and CPH, but will be able to sit for the registration examination for registered dietitian nutritionists,” she said.
“Our graduates are not only graduating prepared to be entry level registered dietitian nutritionists, they are going to have that core MPH foundation as well, so they’ll be really ready to go out there and transform practice with what they have learned,” Crocker said.
Starting strong, the second cohort of students have graduated with 12 students completing the integrated MPH/dietetic internship and an additional 12 completing the online MPH concentration in nutrition and dietetics. All graduates are now registered dietitians with their MPH and CPH working in a range of places including USF and other universities, Tampa General, Veterans Administration, Aramark, Bon Apetit and more.
The nutrition and dietetics program had a recent site visit for full accreditation in October with results pending and anticipated in August 2020.
For the future, the college is working to expand undergraduate nutrition and dietetic offerings. Crocker hopes to eventually expand the current graduate offerings so that the college can serve a broader range of student’s in the future.
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