DIRECT ECONOMIC-BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH DIETETIC INTERNSHIPS

Objective We explored the direct economic benefits of hospital dieteti cs departments sponsoring an internship for dietetics students. Design Forty-five dietetics departments in US hospitals participated in a ma il survey that involved comprehensive data collection procedures using three instruments, including activity logs recorded by 298 dietitians and interns. Main outcome measures Direct benefits were defined as th e net student labor provided to the department during routine and staf f relief experiences that released professional labor for other work. Net student productivity during routine assignments was calculated by subtracting the time dietitians spent teaching during a typical work w eek from the amount of time dietetic interns spent performing professi onal services without direct supervision. Student productivity during staff relief rotations was calculated by multiplying the number of stu dents assigned to this type of experience by the length of the rotatio n. Results While involved in routine learning experiences, dietetic in terns provided a direct benefit. The difference between the time inter ns spent in independent, professional service in the departments and t he time dietitians spent in activities designed specifically for teach ing was a mean of 29 hours in favor of the students. AU departments re ceived a direct benefit from assigning dietetic interns to a staff rel ief rotation. The median number of weeks of student labor gained by th e departments per year was 24. Statistical analyses A paired t test wa s used to analyze the difference between the time dietitians devoted t o teaching interns and the time students spent in independent, profess ional service in the departments. The difference was very highly signi ficant (P<.001). Applications This study is a beginning step in object ively documenting positive outcomes associated with sponsoring a diete tic internship. It also represents a model that could be used by progr am directors to study the economic impact of their supervised practice program on the sponsoring organization.