* Mostly homework assignments to prepare us for clinical roations.

The largest project required at OSF is the luncheon. It is a professional presentation to other RDs, RNs, MDs, or any other specialty. It is an hour long and counts for RD CEUs. You can choose your topic. It is a lot of work, but so rewarding. I almost didn't go to OSF because I was terrified of this, but looking back, I am so glad I did. Don't let that interfere with your decision to go to OSF!

I researched, planned, and presented a nutrition education luncheon to medical professionals with CEUs approved by the ADA CDR.

We had some big projects, like a one hour luncheon presentation but you could potentially not ever have to work on it at home if you just stayed on top of everything.

Not many, most work is done in the office. A big project you have to do is prepare a presentation for a luncheon for area dietitians to receive continuing ed for. I prepared for that a lot at home.

I absolutely love Peoria. I was from a very small town, so I was nervous, but it's a great city. There are safe parts and not safe parts, just like most cities, but for the most part, as long as you live in a good area and are smart, it's very, very safe. There's many things to do, shopping, baseball games, hockey games, parks, great restaurants, free festivals by the riverfront, art shows, etc. I actually did my internship at OSF, then was hired on, worked as a preceptor and just left there in March and moved back to Ohio…and I miss Peoria so much!!!!

When I moved to Peoria, the advice I got was "Make sure you rent an apartment North of War Memorial" and I agree with that 100%.

not down town peoria.

I loved the community aspect of the program. I like that because I am good at program development and you tend to work on healthy living to prevent illness.

#1 - 20-week Emphasis portion of the program -- I was able to create my own curriculum so that I could get experience in the roles/facilities that mattered most to me. #2 - OSF's Eating Disorder facility -- very few internships offer opportunities to truly work with the patients (counseling, providing educations, charting, etc.) -- I was thrilled to have that opportunity here. #3 - OSF is a large facility, so I had experience in specialized units, plus got to do much of my community and food service work with OSF dietitians, even when I wasn't situated on the main campus. This made coordinating the different rotations very smooth! #4 - A paid internship! You can't beat that!

The hospital itself stood out to me. Being from a small town, I was impressed by the large facility with so many specialities. It is the largest hospital between Chicago and St Louis, so you see everything! The only thing they do not have is a burn unit. You get so many experiences you would never be able to obtain at a small hospital.

Variety of areas of experience, geographic location, and the stipend were big factors in choosing OSF Saint Francis. Also, a number of previous Western Illinois University alumnae had success at this internship.

This program offers a very diverse range of experiences, you will experience more different aspects of a career in nutrition then you would at other internships. OSF also offers a 20 week emphasis period where you design your own curriculum to match your personal interests.

I applied to this program because I could tell from the website it met everything I was looking for in an internship. I was interested in a general emphasis and this program allowed countless opportunities and really catered to whatever I was interested in doing. Also the foodservice rotation was short!

I was able to pick my own emphasis; the experiences it allowed me; the stipend; 1 yr long so more experience

It offered a wide variety of experiences. There is an emphasis area for the last 3 months where you pretty much pick what you want to do from a list of projects. There was not a big focus on food service. There is no tuition plus it pays a stipend. I could live with my parents and save money (however, rent in Peoria is cheaper than a lot of coastal areas and bigger cities).

Children, Adolescents, Pregnant Women, Elderly

Children, Adolescents, Pregnant Women, Elderly

Children, Adolescents, Elderly

Children, Pregnant Women, Elderly

Children, Adolescents, Pregnant Women, Elderly

Children, Adolescents, Elderly

Children, Adolescents, Pregnant Women, Elderly

No cost for this internship -- we received a stipend

spouse

Savings

Parents' help

Loans

Parents' help, stipend

It's free

As far as advice, I would suggest trying to gain experiences/shadowing in clinical, food service and community prior to applying for internships. It helps make a stronger application. Any leadership experiences/offices held is also beneficial.

My advice is to visit any program you are interested in. I didn't know until my visit that OSF was the right place for me.

Look at the website! They spell out EXACTLY what they're looking for and how they're scoring the applications. Use that as a guide. Take care to follow directions, and give yourself plenty of time because you need to send more than just the standard application. Also, you'll truly be most competitive for this program if you're a well-rounded person.

They look for a very well rounded individual. List all of your activities, even if they are not related to dietetics.

Be very honest about yourself in the application letter. An appropriate "fit" will be made when the applicant is honest in his or her areas of interest.

Focus on your previous work and volunteer experiences in the nutrition field, or if you don't have any direct experience then on transferable skills that would apply to nutrition.

Write a great essay with absolutely no grammatical/spelling errors! Be prepared for phone interviews with stories you want to be sure to tell because they make you look good. Most likely there will be some question it will work for. And just sound enthusiastic!

Get involved in as much as possible because points are give towards stuff other than dietetics experience and GPA. Any jobs, clubs, sports, greek life, etc. gives you points, so start joining! Get letters of reference from people who will give you a good recommendation. While reading some of the letters, I was so surprised people would pick a teacher or boss who would rank them so low.