Supervised Practice for DI

Interns at foodservice rotation

The Dietetic Internship Program places interns throughout Portland, Southwest Washington, Southern Oregon and Bend for supervised practice, giving interns the opportunity to experience nutrition care in urban, suburban, and rural settings. 

Supervised practice rotations provide students with experience in community, food service, clinical, and specialty practice settings. Students practice and apply principles and skills in dietetics and nutrition to real situations under the guidance of professionals in the field. Supervised practice generally occurs Tuesdays through Fridays each week throughout the Dietetic Internship Program. 

Suitable placements for supervised practice are developed by the Dietetic Internship Director and Associate Dietetic Internship Director. When assigning primary placement sites, our program takes the match code, student preferences, and several other factors into consideration, but students may be placed in Portland, Southwest Washington, Southern Oregon or Bend regardless of student preference or match code. Students are assigned to a primary placement site for the majority of their supervised practice; however, several external rotations give students the opportunity to experience working in a variety of other settings, which include distance or rural locations. Students complete one rural rotation during their supervised practice rotations in locations such as Astoria, Coos Bay, Seaside, Warm Springs, Madras/Bend, Redmond, and Pendleton. Distance between the students' primary placement and practice sites may vary and extended distances may occur.  

Click on the tabs to the left to discover more about supervised practice in the Southern Oregon area, Bend and the Portland-Vancouver metro area. 

Example of a DI Rotation Schedule

Crater Lake

Nestled in the beautiful Rogue Valley, Medford is the largest city in Southern Oregon and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state. It is just under a five hour drive from both Portland, OR and Sacramento, CA, but also has a major airport for easy flight travel. With a warm and moderate climate, and many opportunities for outdoor activities, Medford is an attractive place for many. Klamath Falls, nicknamed “Oregon’s City of Sunshine,” is just 50 miles from Crater Lake and even closer to scenic hiking and mountain biking, golfing at four famous courses, freshwater fishing and Oregon’s longest zipline. 

Our Southern Oregon graduates have an excellent internship experience with dedicated and compassionate preceptors, and easily find employment in the area upon graduation. 

A Southern Oregon-based internship may be a good fit for you if: 

  • You are independent and self-directed
  • You prefer a tight-knit community and a small cohort
  • You enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including: hiking; mountain biking; rafting or kayaking; bird-watching; wine tasting and other events

Students placed in Southern Oregon will complete all supervised practice rotations in their community for the duration of the program and will attend didactic courses through videoconferencing. Southern Oregon students will be expected to travel to the Portland-area a few times throughout the internship, which will be discussed upon acceptance into the program. We accept 4 to 6 students each year into the Southern Oregon-based internship.

Sample of Supervised Practice Sites

  • Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center
  • Phoenix-Talent School District
  • Rogue Valley Farm to School 
  • Medford School District (Sodexo)
  • Providence Medford
  • One Peak Health
  • Southern Oregon Bariatric Clinic
  • Sky Lakes Medical Center 

Explore Medford and Klamath Falls 

3 Days in Medford and the Rogue Valley

Road Trip: Klamath Falls

Travel Medford

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Aerial view of Bend and Deschutes river in the evening in Central Oregon

Bend is a rapidly growing city in central Oregon that has been called the outdoor playground of the west. Life in Bend includes proximity to beautiful lakes, a world-class ski area, endless hiking and biking trails, all within a short distance from a hip, cosmopolitan mountain town. Almost everyone who lives in Portland wishes that they could move to Bend.

Our Bend graduates have an excellent internship experience with a diverse group of dedicated preceptors which offer a well-rounded dietetic experience.

A Bend-based internship may be a good fit for you if:

  • You are independent and self-directed
  • You have experience attending long-distance courses
  • You prefer a tight-knit community and a small cohort
  • Your nutrition interests include: long-term care; outpatient and clinical nutrition; and community nutrition.

Students placed in Bend will complete all supervised practice rotations in their community for the duration of the program and will attend didactic courses through videoconferencing. Bend students will be expected to travel to the Portland-area a few times throughout the internship, which will be discussed upon acceptance into the program. Bend is just under a three hour drive from Portland, OR.

Sample of Supervised Practice Sites

  • St. Charles Health System
  • Bend La-Pine School District
  • OHSU Central Oregon Community Research Hub
  • OHSU Extension Deschutes County
  • OHSU Central Oregon Cancer Center

Explore Bend

Downtown Portland

Portland is situated next to the Columbia River in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon. Vancouver is just across the river in the SW Washington region. Together, the two create the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Students placed in this area are expected to rotate at sites as far west as Forest Grove, south to Salem, north to Ridgefield, and east to Sandy with occasional distance or rural rotations that lie outside of these areas. 

Students of our dietetic internship placed in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area have experiences in a variety of clinical and community settings and attend didactic courses in person at the OHSU campus. Please note that although match code and other preferences and circumstances are taken into consideration, students may be placed in Portland, Vancouver, Medford or Bend at the discretion of the DI Director and Associate DI Director. 

A Portland-based internship may be a good fit for you if:

  • You need in-person faculty mentorship
  • Your nutrition interests include: pediatrics; specialized outpatient; and community nutrition 

Sample of Supervised Practice Sites

  • Adventist Portland Medical Center
  • Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers
  • Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
  • Oregon Health & Science University Hospital
  • Oregon Dairy & Nutrition Council
  • Providence Health & Services Medical Centers
  • PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
  • Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic Centers
  • OHSU Food Resource Center

Explore Portland

Things to Do in Portland

Urban walkabouts help you explore Portland

Explore Outdoors in Vancouver

Rural farm visit - GPHN

The OHSU Graduate Programs in Human Nutrition supports OHSU's efforts to get students out into all types of communities in Oregon. We place each student in a supervised practice experience outside the metropolitan area in a rural location for at least one rotation.

Students are assigned to a primary placement site for the majority of their clinical supervised practice; however, several external rotations give students the opportunity to experience working in a variety of other settings, which may include distance or rural locations. Students will complete at least one rural rotation during their supervised practice rotations in locations such as Coos Bay, Astoria, Seaside, North Lincoln City, Pendleton or other rural locations. Distance between the students' primary placement and practice sites may vary and extended distances may occur. 

Distance or rural rotations can be anywhere from 2-4 weeks in length and are usually greater than 100 miles from your primary placement site. OHSU housing is provided for free during your rural rotation. The student is responsible for all costs to and from the rural rotation site. Details will be shared with students prior to starting their distance supervised practice rotation.