From 1973 to 1993, the American Dietetic Association (now known as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – AND) offered certain individuals an unaccredited “alternate” pathway to become a Registered Dietitian. Though it was not a well-known fact, these education pathways allowed individuals to gain knowledge and skills by working under the guidance of individual practitioners (sometimes called preceptors). Many individuals of these self-directed, flexible experiences went on to become leaders within the profession. Unfortunately, the lack of protections and formal accountability to the individuals, especially when practitioners were not able to uphold their end of a non-formal agreement, became problematic.
The Academy decided to try again and in September of 2011 developed the Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway or ISPP (“ispeys”). This time though, the ISPP is intended to provide supervised practice experience through either an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited Dietetic Internship or Coordinated Program. The ISPP at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) is a continuing education opportunity offered through the Dietetic Internship Program (DI) within the Department of Nutritional Sciences housed within the College of Allied Health (CAH). The ISPP at OUHSC is designed to provide individuals an opportunity to increase their knowledge of food and nutrition science and to acquire competencies needed to practice dietetics in a variety of settings. Upon successful completion of the ISPP, individuals are expected to have the knowledge and supervised practice experience in the areas of clinical, management and community needed to sit for the National Registration Exam for Registered Dietitians.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
To be considered for admission, a Participant must:
- Have earned a doctoral degree from a US college or university.
- Evaluation of knowledge is required if a doctoral degree was completed five (5) or more years prior to application to the ISPP.
- Complete an online application.
- If accepted, must complete an Assessment of Prior Learning. (see next section)
- A verification statement for a didactic program IS NOT required.
PREREQUISITES:
- There are no prerequisites required to be accepted into the ISPP.
The ISPP has a selective application process due to the nature of the pathway. There is no deadline for the application. The ISPP Participant will not be admitted or enrolled in any program at the University of Oklahoma. To be eligible for consideration for the ISPP Experience, the Participant must submit the following documents/forms:
- Complete an application to determine eligibility.
- Complete and submit an Assessment of Prior Learning to be reviewed by ISPP Coordinator.
- Provide a copy of official transcripts from a US college or university where PhD was earned.
- Provide current Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Provide 2 Letters of reference.
- Provide a 750 word statement stating why you are seeking the RD Credential.
- Outline of a proposed, though not yet approved, schedule of where supervised practice hours can be arranged.
After submission of all required information, the selection committee will make a determination of whether or not to offer the ISPP Experience to the Participant. After the selection committee offers the ISPP Experience to the Participant, the committee and the Participant will discuss expectations for the ISPP Experience and next steps for the Participant to begin the Experience. When both parties agree on the relevant terms of the Experience (cost, time commitment, additional learning modules if needed), an ISPP Agreement will be signed by the ISPP Coordinator and the ISPP Participant.