7 Tips for Finding Preceptors

If you areg a distance dietetic internship program you will most likely have to find your own preceptors. A preceptor is someone who is willing to mentor and supervise you through your dietetic internship rotations, teach you about the role of an RD, and evaluate your performance and ability to function as an entry-level dietitian. Sometimes finding preceptors can be difficult, but it is absolutely possible and totally worth trying!

3 Reasons Why It's Challenging to Find Preceptors

Before I give you my tips for finding preceptors, first let's discuss why it's challenging. I believe we need to start here so we can get an idea of the obstacles and have a plan to overcome them.

1. Some facilities are already affiliated with an internship program. Non-Distance Dietetic Internships have contracts and affiliation agreements with certain facilities so these facilities may not be able to accommodate any additional interns. Also, some hospitals, food service organizations and public health facilities have their own internship programs so they won't accept distance interns. For example, Florida International University's Dietetic Internship may be affiliated with Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

2. Some places don't have the capacity to take on interns. I don't really understand this, but that is literally the response I got from someone working in the health department of the county where I live. It could be because it's time consuming to have to continually train new interns, or there isn't enough office space to accommodate interns.

3. Some RDs aren't willing or aren't able to. The reason why the match rate for dietetic internships is so low is because there aren't enough preceptors. There are many dietitians but not everyone wants to be a preceptor. Then there may be regulations in certain facilities that prohibit them from precepting interns. One of the responses I got from an RD was "our center isn't set up to be a site for internships and the RDs that work here aren't set up as preceptors."

You shouldn't be afraid of someone telling you no. You are not being rejected, you are simply being redirected.

With these obstacles in mind, how can you overcome them?

1. Start with who you know. It may sound cliche, but the old adage, "it's not what you know, it's who you know," is very true. Do you know any RDs in the location you want to do you internship? Are you connected with any RDs on social media? The people you know may not be able to directly help you, but they can assist in connecting you with someone that can. Let me tell you how I secured my first rotation: My mom went to someone's house for thanksgiving dinner and that person's sister is a Registered Dietitian who completed the same dietetic internship program I am completing. My mom connected me with her and I asked her to help me, and she was VERY helpful! The location where she works is too far from where I live so she connected me with another RD that works closer to where I live.

2. Use LinkedIn to your advantage. I was never really a fan of LinkedIn until I saw how valuable it is. First, make sure you have a good profile and that it is updated to reflect where you are now. Then, start searching! There's so many ways you can search. Let's say I'm looking for a WIC dietitian in the Miami area. I would go on LinkedIn and type in "Registered Dietitian WIC Miami,"or "Public Health Nutritionist Miami-Dade County." This search will reveal many dietitians and you can either message them on LinkedIn, email them, or call the facility and ask for that specific person. You can also use LinkedIn to search for dietetic interns or to see where other interns completed their dietetic internship rotations.

3. Contact small hospitals. Sometimes small community hospitals or long term care facilities with sub-acute units are more agreeable to sponsor you. You may think that to get the best experience you need to go to a major hospital, but that isn't entirely true. It's your preceptors that make the biggest difference, and you can have a fun and phenomenal learning experience ANYWHERE! My first rotation was with Miami Jewish Health PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), an adult day-care and long-term, community-based alternative to nursing home care, and my second rotation was with Kindred Hospital Fort Lauderdale, a 70-bed long-term acute care hospital, both great experiences!

4. Contact local community organizations. My internship program initially required me to do my community rotations with Headstart and WIC, but that wasn't possible for me, so they allowed me to complete it with any community organization that provides nutrition services and education, especially to children. So, I contacted FLIPANY and they were more than happy to allow me to intern with them. I also contacted the YMCA nearest to me and found out that they have many health education workshops for the community, and they also welcomed me to work with them.

5. Volunteer or work in a facility that has RDs. Volunteering or working gets your foot in the door and may also open up other connections. Some internship programs may even offer you "prior learning experience" hours. For example, prior to starting the dietetic internship I worked in a school's cafeteria and assisted with preparing and serving food to K-12 students. I completed a few of the competencies required for the dietetic internship program so my program directed counted it as prior learning experience for school food-service. This may not be the case for everyone, but it's been said many times that working in a hospital is a great way to secure an internship rotation because they already know you and it's easier for them to say yes.

6. Ask past interns. People who have completed the same or similar program are always a great resource! Ask them how they found preceptors, ask them who their preceptors were, ask them where they completed their rotations. How do you find past interns? 2 ways: Search the website of the dietetic internship programs for student spotlights or join dietetic student groups on social media. All Access Internships has a Facebook group consisting of over 4700 past and present students and interns and they discuss all things related to the journey to the dietetic internship. It is a very safe space and a great group to ask ALL YOUR QUESTIONS, even the questions that you may deem silly and are ashamed to ask.

7. Use the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Find-A-Preceptor Database. You can find it by clicking here. The Find-a-Preceptor Database allows program directors and students, who are members of the Academy, to search for a preceptor within a certain geographical or specialty area. The RDs that can be found in this database have already committed to being a preceptor so they would be more than willing to help. However, keep in mind that not all RDs have signed up to be a preceptor through this database, and sometimes it may not be 100% updated. However, it is a great guide and a very useful tool!

Lastly, don't forget the most important part: asking. Be brave, be bold, and just ask. The worse they can say is no, and if you don't ask, your answer is already no. You can contact potential preceptors by email or by calling. It has been said that calling is preferred, but it depends on the person you are trying to contact.

What do you say to preceptors when you contact them? Click here for a copy of my newest resource: Contacting Preceptors: What to Say, How to Search LinkedIn, & How to Find Preceptor's Emails

If you find that you need more help, All Access Internships (AAI) has a coaching program called The Get Matched Program. If you choose the Silver or Gold Program you'll get preceptor search assistance where they help you find preceptors AND contact them on your behalf!

If you have any other tips to share please or any questions, comment below! I would love to hear from you.

Until next time,