The patient population was extremely variable. During the clinical rotation it was mostly acutely ill adults, although we each spent 2 weeks in the childrens hospital as well.

I was lucky enough to have my parents help in paying for the internship. Since it is not a college or graduate program I was unable to get any student loans. I did not have another job during the internship because the program was pretty rigorous and I did not think I would be able to put my full attention and effort into the program if I was also working. One thing that was really helpful to me was the Michigan Bridge card, which helped with my food expenses. I would encourage anyone in the internship to apply for it!

I choose this internship because of the reputation of the University of Michigan Health System and because of the location.

I thought the workload was challenging but manageable. There were assignments that seemed like busy work, but also ones that were very helpful. There was also reading available, if I felt like I needed more information on a topic. There were a lot of presentations and group projects which were time consuming but for the most part very valuable to my education.

I enjoyed most of my rotations. I felt that I got the most value from the clinical rotations within the University and the childrens hospitals, as well as the community rotations. I thought the food service rotations were helpful in understanding how a hospital food service operation works but that was not were my personal interests lie, so it was less enjoyable than some of the others. I also very much enjoyed my rotations in various WIC clinics. We were able to attend several Michigan Dietetic Association conferences which were very informative, and which peaked my interest in getting involved with MDA.

I lived across the street from the University Hospital in the Island Drive Apartments. It was about a 10 minute walk to work each morning. It was a really nice and affordable apartment. I shared it with another intern. She emailed our group asking if anyone was interested in living together. I responded and since she was from Michigan and I was not, she traveled to Ann Arbor and got everything set up for us. Overall it was a really good set up. We lived closer to the hospital than you could even park!