Carissa Brand was trained as a chef but pivoted into dietetics when she realized she wanted a career that combined her love of food with her passion for science. 

“Dietetics allows me to use my culinary skills and my science-based skills to create a one-of-a-kind treatment that people need,” said Brand, who is now several months into her integrated dietetic internship and MPH program at the USF College of Public Health (COPH). “Food isn’t just food. It’s fuel for your body. It’s meaningful to you at all times.”

Dietetic Internship/MPH Program

The COPH’s integrated MPH/dietetic internship program is a highly selective, intensive 20-month-long program that prepares students for careers as registered dietitians (RDs), professionals who work to meet the public’s health-related challenges related to nutrition, including chronic disease prevention and management and food insecurity.

In addition to classroom learning, which is 100 percent online, students rotate through a variety of supervised practice experiences, each lasting a couple of weeks. They work alongside preceptors (registered dietitians) to experientially learn entry-level competencies and skills at hospitals, with community groups such as Meals on Wheels and even at USF’s own Feed-a-Bull food pantry, which has been visited 3,000 times by students in the last two years.

Depending on their rotation, the students might create an individualized meal plan for a hospital patient with metabolic issues or a student interested in losing weight. They learn about food service operations at the USF dining services. They also volunteer at Feeding Tampa Bay or the Feed-a-Bull pantry, sorting food, providing group-based education and sharing resources.

“Every one-to-two weeks, I get a new rotation,” Brand said. “It helps me understand what I think I’d like to do and what I might not want to do when I graduate.”

Nutrition as Public Health 

Maria Meza Martinez says she chose the COPH dietetics program because it combined hands-on internship training with an MPH degree—a degree that gives her an advantage in integrating nutrition into public health policy.

“A lot of times, nutrition is put on the back burner,” Martinez said. “But when you include nutrition in health policy, it becomes a preventive measure. I decided on this program because of the public health degree. Public health has such a huge impact on our lives—we saw that with the pandemic. I love that this program allows me to combine my interest in nutrition with public health.”

Not the “Salad Police”

Brand is quick to point out that as a future dietitian, she’s not “the salad police.” 

“If you want to have a burger, have a burger,” she said. “Just make sure you’re also eating fruits, veggies and healthy grains and fats. Good nutrition can stop the clock. If you have a condition that’s asymptomatic, say something like high cholesterol, healthy eating may help stop it from getting any worse. It can even help prevent the condition in the first place.”

Martinez, who says she was influenced in her career choice by her health-conscious mother, says she doesn’t want people to have tunnel vision when it comes to good nutrition. “Food can have cultural significance,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to me when people from a Hispanic background, for example, come in and say they can’t eat rice because it has too many carbs. I want to break that stigma and show you can eat these foods and still have a balanced diet.”

Mentoring Along the Way

The interns are guided along the way by mentors—aka preceptors—who have been through this program or a similar one and are now working as RDs. 

Katie Webster, an RD who also received an MPH from the college (although she’s not a graduate of the dietetics program), volunteers as a preceptor, working with the interns at Student Health Services and Feed-a-Bull pantry.

“The journey of becoming a registered dietitian is quite intensive, and being a preceptor allows the opportunity to connect and provide guidance to rising dietitians,” Webster said. “Being able to mentor students during their internship has been a refreshing, rewarding experience. I’m fortunate that I have a unique position in the field of dietetics and I love that I have the opportunity to show dietetic interns there are employment opportunities in the field that don’t fit the traditional clinic, community or food service positions.”

Stacey Struhar, a registered dietitian who helps run the Feed-a-Bull pantry, graduated from the integrated program in 2018 and is now also a preceptor. She likes to see the students broaden their perspectives through their internship work. “Being involved with something like the food pantry,” she said, “helps the interns realize that food insecurity is a barrier to good health, so they can make sure to consider that when working with their future patients.”

Next Steps

Both Brand and Martinez anticipate finishing their program in roughly a year’s time. 

And then?

Martinez says she’s interested in a career as a community-based dietitian. Brand is hoping for something in a clinical-care setting. 

“A lot of times when someone thinks of a critical-care team, the dietitian is the last one they think of—if they think of one at all.” Brand commented. “I really want to change that and show people that a dietitian has earned their place on that team. They deserve to be recognized for the care they provide.”

Feed-a-Bull Pantry

The pantry, located at SVC 0002, on the ground floor of the Student Services Building, is currently accepting any shelf-stable food items as well as personal hygiene products. Donations can be dropped off in a bin right outside the pantry door. There’s also a collection bin located in the COPH lobby. Food can also be purchased through the pantry’s Amazon wish list and delivered to the pantry. Monetary donations are also accepted.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health