Preceptor Resources & Forms

The Bowling Green State University Distance Internship Program in Nutrition and Dietetics is designed for students who are geographically bound and cannot attend a traditional internship program. The basic schedule, required courses, and supervised practice experiences are the same for both the on-site program interns and the distance interns. Interns in the distance program are required to locate their own rotation sites and initiate correspondence between the preceptor and the DI program director. A preceptor and site information form must be submitted to the program director for approval prior to beginning rotations.

Interns will attend an on-site orientation for1 week on BGSU's main campus the summer prior to the start of Fall semester. During Fall semester, interns will be enrolled in three on-line courses: Introduction to Dietetic Internship, Advanced Clinical Nutrition, and Micronutrients or Macronutrients. Rotations for most interns will begin in January.

Interns and/or DI program leaders will provide all of the necessary paperwork for preceptors to sign including the ACEND required competencies and rotation assignments, rotation competency evaluation form, and time sheet. BGSU DI Leadership will provide an open line of communication in preparation for and during each intern's rotation. Completed forms can be returned to the intern at the end of the rotation. 

You can earn a total of eight prior-approved CPEU’s from the Commission on Dietetics Registration free of charge by completing the Online Dietetics Preceptor Training module

http://cdrnet.org/news/online-dietetics-preceptor-training-course-free-of-charge

There are general expectations for the types of experiences interns will receive in their acute care, community, or foodservice settings. Here are some examples of suggested experiences.

Community rotations  
· Plan, coordinate and provide nutrition education for identified groups of clients
· Write a newsletter article for the general public.
· Identify and apply appropriate interventions/modifications and develop outcome measures for community   needs
· Understand the funding process and legislative issues in community nutrition
· Identify available community resources – make a list of area resources
· Participate in community based food and nutrition programs, identify their missions and objectives

     • Food stamp program
     • National School Lunch Program
     • School Breakfast Program
     • Summer Foodservice Program
     • Child and Adult Care Food Program
     • Food Distribution Program (food bank)
     • WIC
     • Commodity Supplemental Food program
     • Congregate and Home-Delivered Meal Programs

Acute care rotations 
· Screen, assess and develop care plans for patients with a variety of illnesses
· Apply and interpret lab values for appropriate patient evaluation
· Create written patient/client education materials
· Identify components of quality management in the clinical setting – collect data if possible
· Measure a specific component related to outcomes and provide recommendations for improvement
· Review budget, payment and reimbursement issues for clinical nutrition services
· Select, implement, and evaluate standard enteral and parenteral nutrition regimens
· Prioritize patients for nutritional care in a clinical setting
· Attend patient care conferences or discharge planning meetings as available
· Participate in billing functions for nutrition services with clinical nutrition manager or other responsible   individual

Foodservice management  
· Participate in the collection of and evaluation of quality management data for the departments TQM plan
· Work with the foodservice manager to review planning and goal setting for the department
· Apply computer hardware, software technology to the following: purchasing, forecasting, menu   planning, inventory, productivity assessment, employee scheduling, production scheduling, nutrient   analysis and/or financial management as available
· Attend and/or participate in foodservice meetings/conferences with a member of the management team
· Attend professional organization meetings, departmental meetings, in-service education sessions
· Create appropriate education and training opportunities and material and conduct in-service training for   employees
· Identify local, state and federal regulations that influence and affect food procurement, production,   distribution and service
· Discuss menu costs in terms of food, labor, and operating/overhead costs
· Conduct a “make or buy” decision analysis
· Plan, coordinate and participate in a cafeteria/dining room promotional activity
· Participate, as allowed, in personnel activities , as the experience is available
· Discuss employee turnover, employee productivity and job satisfaction in the foodservice with a   preceptor

Precepting an intern in the distance program is essentially the same as working with interns from a program located in your area. Ultimately, interns should be able to carry out the normal tasks associated with your position at an entry level. For example, an intern should be able to calculate TPN, but not adjust the electrolytes, which is an advanced skill. The type of orientation that a new employee receives will benefit your intern. This can include reading the policy and procedure manual and completing any type of assessment typically required of new employees (HIPPA training, for example).

Interns in most internships attend some type of class (formal, if the internship is within a university structure or informal, if located within a hospital or public health facility). While interns enter the program with a great deal of book learning, their hands on experience will vary greatly. All interns, including those with with substantial work experience, have a lot to learn as an intern.

The Preceptor Handbook found in the Resources and Forms section provides more information for working with interns.

Competency forms which align with the competencies required by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics will be provided for the intern at each rotation. The program director will also provide a precptor's version of the rotation's competency form to help facilitate the planned experience and meet objectives associated with each competency. The planned experiences can be modified by preceptors to meet individual site needs. 

An affiliation agreement must be completed and signed by BGSU and the hosting facility prior to an intern reporting to a site for rotation. The program director will work with preceptors and representatives from the site to complete the affiliation agreement. Interns are asked to send an email that introduces the preceptor and the program director in order to start the affiliation agreement process. This can sometimes become a lengthy process. To avoid delay in interns reporting to sites, interns are asked to provide introductions between the preceptor and the program director during the fall semester. 

Each site determines health and any other requirements for the intern with whom they will be working. Interns are typically required to complete the following: hepatitis B - 3 dose immunization series or HbsAg lab test, rubella immunity screen or proof of immunization, rubeola immunity screen or proof of immunization, varicella verified disease history or immunity screen lab test, tetanus shot within the last 10 years, 2 step TB skin test, annual flu vaccine, COVID-19 vaccine series, and physical. Some sites also require a criminal background check and CPR certification. Interns are responsible for providing this documentation.

BGSU will enter into an agreement initiated from another facility, however, the agreement will need to be reviewed by the Bowling Green State University Office of General Counsel to ensure that the language complies with the laws of the State of Ohio. On occasion, the terms of the agreement cannot be agreed upon by the two parties. While this is of no fault of the intern, if the affiliation agreement cannot be completed, the intern will not be able to use the facility for supervised practice.