SUMMER EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION Planning for summer starts in the fall semester! Summer jobs in your major(s) assist you by: relating academic material to actual practice helping to assure you are indeed in the right major providing future references to be used for jobs, experience program applications, etc. MOST dietetic experience programs, such as the CPD and dietetic internships, require you have AT LEAST one work experience in dietetics. (More than 85% of successful applicants to dietetic internship programs have had more than 1 year work experience related to dietetics.) Therefore IF you plan to apply for a dietetic experience program to qualify you for the RD credential, you should secure at least one summer position in dietetics. This must be your priority IF you plan to apply to dietetic experience programs. If you are a double major, seek this experience first, as you can always secure a summer experience related to other majors such as health and fitness the summer after you graduate, which would be too late for dietetic experience applications in your senior year. If you can, it is recommended that you secure two different kinds of dietetic positions to enhance your application. Try to secure a job as closely related to traditional dietetics as possible (a hospital setting, a nursing home setting, a dietetics education setting (WIC), a camp in foodservice), etc. A position between the junior and senior year would also be especially helpful as this would be a fresh work experience from which you could receive a reference for dietetic experience program applications your senior year! What about volunteer experience? Volunteer experience is an excellent way to round out your applications, and can often be done during the school year via local opportunities. It is not the best to only have volunteer experience in the summer, but would be better than no experience at all. IF this is the only experience available to you, you can make it the best it can be by approaching it as if it were really a paid experience. Do this by asking to accomplish specific tasks and/or projects in the volunteer experience. Be sure to come regularly and consistently, and take more than an observational interest in the opportunity. The more you do in any job, including volunteer work, the easier it will be for a supervisor to recognize your talents and to write about them in a reference letter. Although not a paid position, the right volunteer position could be as valuable as a paid one if you spend enough time in it.
HOW DO YOU FIND OPPORTUNITIES? The positions listed in this communication are for any dietetics major. Contact several to help assure a job. In some cases, preference may be given to students in their junior year or those who have already had courses in quantity food production and diet selection and planning. However this information is being sent to all dietetic students so you will begin to know what's available even if you are not interested in a position for 2004. 1. Contact a potential employer with a letter and resume as soon as possible and certainly no later than February 1, 2005. The earlier the better-even if the facility does not know yet if they definitely have an opening. If they honor "first come, first serve", you will be contacted should a position open. Some students make an initial contact while home over winter holiday break. Then follow up every 3 weeks or so. 2. Former students have been employed in MANY locations in Indiana. Most students seek employment near their homes to alleviate additional living expenses. 3. Try to identify a specific person to contact. You can simply go through the yellow pages and identify health care establishments; then call them and get the name of the head of the dietary department. Make your initial contact with the Dietary Department rather than Personnel. You can be referred to Personnel then by Dietary if a position is available. If you need assistance with making up a resume, you can find examples in the local copy shops, the career center in Stewart Center, the libraries, and you may ask your advisor to look over your resume and offer assistance. Resume writing is taught in campus workshops and in F&N 106. Resumes are important as they are a written picture of you. Take care to make them professional in both appearance and word! EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: 1. ACUHO Summer Experiences in Food Service Management: For Students between junior/senior year on college campuses across the U.S. THIS IS A NEAT EXPERIENCE! Applications are due by mid-january and available via the posting on the bulletin Board outside 2nd floor Stone office. A campus interview is required. A SPECIAL NOTE: If you do an ACUHO summer experience, you do NOT have to take HTM 291L. 2. Public Health Service COSTEP program: COSTEP students are assigned to a U.S. Public Health Service agency such as the FDA, Centers for Disease Control, Indian Health Service, NIH. Student must go to wherever the assignment is made. Applications usually due Feb. 1 for the summer and are highly competitive. Usually for those who will be seniors 2004-
2005 academic year. Contact for application: COSTEP, PHS Recruitment 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 600, McLean, VA 22102. 1-800-221-9393. Can also access on HHS web site.(www.hhs.gov) 3. Marriott Summer Positions, and ARAMARK Summer Positions: Both these foodservice management companies sometimes offer EXCELLENT summer jobs for students, usually Juniors. Be sure to regularly check the bulletin board for a posting. SPECIAL NOTE: These positions MAY substitute for HTM 291L depending on the individual experience. 4. USDA Intern Program Applications usually due in early February for positions in Washington, D.C. with various offices within USDA such as Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. Contact has been Ms. Marilyn Jenkins, Department Student Program Manager, Policy Analysis and Coordination Center, Human Resources Management, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9600. Also check USDA web site for opportunities. (www.usda.gov) 5. Camps: Camp Calcium at Purdue employment opportunities will be posted early next semester. Applications will be available from the F&N office. Girl Scouts of Chicago. Camps in IL, IN, and WI. Contact 14 East Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604. Positions available in foodservice management. Trail Blazer Camps for foodservice management. Contact Trail Blazer Camps at 225 Park Avenue South, Room 730, New York, NY. 10003. Indiana Diabetic Camps: Watch for posting 6. Internships with magazine/cooking publications: Summer internships with Southern Progress Corporation, parent company for Southern Living, Cooking Light Series of Cookbooks, etc. Contact Ms. Dru Harris, Southern Progress Corporation, P. O. Box 2581, Birmingham, AL 35202. Applications for summer are usually due March 1. Need to send evidence of writing. Job would be in Birmingham, AL. Meredith Corporation, Contact 2005 Summer Internship Program, Corporate Staffing Services, 1716 Locust Street, Dept MSIP, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023 for information. Meredith Corporation is a multi-media corporation with positions in all aspects of the media, including writing for magazines, cookbooks, etc. Also contact other publication companies i.e. Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, with cover letter and resume if you are interested in nutrition journalism, test kitchen work, etc.
7. Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and/or Extension Programs in Foods and Nutrition. Contact Foods and Nutrition Extension Agent in County Offices. Not all offices have an agent. 8. How about working at a zoo for the summer in nutrition? The Philadelphia Zoo has employed nutrition interns in the past. The positions are usually unpaid, but do not require you work but a minimum of 8 hr/week. So if you ve relatives in Philly, you could perhaps secure a paid position in a traditional dietetic setting and then do this as well. Contact: Philadelphia Zoo, Human Resource Department, 3400 W. Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104. 9. Check out http://internships.wetfeet.com 10. Check out www.usda.gov and www.hhs.gov for opportunities. 11. Often posted, summer opportunities in Alaska! 12. Check the bulletin board outside 2 nd floor F&N for positions unique to Nutrition, Fitness and Health. 13. Hospital Dietetic opportunities available in past years: Parkwood Health Care Center in Lebanon, IN. Contact Pat Howell at 765-483-6400 and/or send letter and resume to 1001 North Grant Street, Lebanon, IN 46502. This is a nursing care facility and rehabilitation center. St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. 1600 Albany Street. Beech Grove, IN 46107. Contact Bonnie Meehan, R.D. 317-782-6007 V.A. in Fort Wayne. Contact Debra Synder, R.D., Chief, Dietetic Services VA Medical Center. 1600 Randiala, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. Johnson County Memorial Hospital, ll25 West Jefferson Street, Franklin, Indiana 46131. Carol Peak, M.S., R.D., Clinical Dietitian, 317-736-3353. V.A. Medical Center in Marion, IN. Contact for an application : Mrs. Roberta Jones, Personnel Services (05), VA Medical Center. E. 38th Street, Marion, IN 46952. Director, Food and Dietary Services, Methodist Hospital, 1701 N. Senate Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Director, Patient Food Services, Dietetics, UH2C227/0056, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, The University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Director, Dietetics, The University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Foods and Nutrition Services, F4/120, 600 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53792. 14. Look for positions at any hospital or health care facility.
F&N 350. Practicum in Dietetics: If you wish to have credit for work experience on your transcript, you may wish to register for F&N 350, Practicum in Dietetics-available for 1 credit, pass/fail - or F&N 590 and name it to fit the summer work experience. Either of these require you work with a faculty member to facilitate the experience. ALL MUST BE PRE-APPROVED. The following discussion is general information on these type of work experiences. You must register for the credit. If you do so for the summer session, you will be charged for 1 credit. You may wish to do the experience during the summer but not register for it until fall or spring. Use the designator code of the advisor who will work with your preceptor(s) to get the evaluation at the end of your experience. Mark the grade option as P/N. F&N 350 requires full time work that would normally cover 6 to 8 weeks of work. Ideally it would be under the supervision of a F&N professional such as a RD, if in a hospital setting, or an extension agent who specializes in F&N, if in a community setting, or an appropriately credentialed person if in a wellness setting. Check the credential of the supervisor with your advisor to determine if it is an appropriate credential to supervise your work. You are not limited to any specific environment to receive the credit as long as it is related to dietetics and you are appropriately supervised. Therefore WIC clinics, Dairy Councils, Food Companies, Extension service, etc. are all possibilities for this experience. An evaluation will be required by the supervisor at the end of the experience. To relate the experience to scholarly learning, you should send reports back to the faculty member every 2 weeks of your activities with reflective thinking on your part. The faculty member may not require these until the end of the experience but must have them prior to turning in a grade for the course. A log of activities with a page of reflection on the activities will also suffice. The faculty member MAY require you to abstract articles related to the work experience. For example, if you were working in a hospital dietary department, and were fortunate to have contact with patients, you might read articles about their particular illness or disease. If you are working in wellness, you might choose articles related to wellness programs. If you are working in foodservice, choose articles related to institutional foodservice. If you were working in a community environment, articles related to nutrition education in a community setting would be a fit. Readings and evaluation will be related to the type of employment secured and would be different for each different experience. Ideally, a scholarly experience would not have you repeating the same activity over and over again. If this is all that is available, it does not mean it will not be a good work experience, but it may mean it does not fit F&N 350 or 590 for which you receive academic credit. Many employers might wish
to see the check-list of activities before agreeing to do a practicum. The practicum does not have to be for paid work. Payment is solely between you and the facility. On the following pages are examples of the types of work activities for a hospital setting, a fitness setting for a DPD major that is not also a NFH major, an experience that could qualify as a substitute for HTM 291L, and an example of an extension related work experience.
To: Students wishing to complete F&N 350, Practicum in Dietetics OR Students wishing to complete a work experience which will waive the HTM 291L requirement Re: Required items to receive P for summer work experience and processing for credit for HTM 291L Date: March, 2007 The following are requirements for an F&N 350 experience: 1) It is intended that the experience be PRE-approved. Retroactive approval is NOT acceptable. 2) The ACUHO and NACUFS programs automatically meet, and exceed, the criteria to substitute for HTM 291L, and do NOT have to meet the criteria listed below in 3-6. They do have to have a final evaluation sent from the supervisor, but it does not need to be on the form provided with this information. 3) A person in an appropriate supervisory position, with specific training for the position they hold, must complete the evaluation form. 4) The student should mail a 2-3 page summary of their work experience to the instructor every other week during the required 8 week experience (4 total reports). The reports should discuss the work experience of the time period. An alternative to the reports would be for the student to keep a log with a 1 page reflective reaction to cover every 2 weeks. Depending on the Purdue Faculty in charge, the reports may not be need to be returned until the end of the term, but must be received prior to when the Purdue faculty member must turn in a grade for the session. 5) The student should address all areas on the evaluation form that they were involved in at the facility. 6) The student must complete a minimum of 70% of the items listed on the evaluation to receive a P in the course. Key items to qualify for a HTM 291L substitute include those related to each station and sanitation.
Suggested work experience activities in a hospital setting Adjust related to the amount of time in the work experience. A metric would need to be developed. The metrics for other experiences that follow would be templates to follow. Goal: Participation in the usual variety of activities associated with the normal operation of a hospital dietary department. Objectives: 1. Selected experiences in foodservice such as: Assist with food preparation for all items prepared such as bakery, entrees, salads, desserts and breads, etc. Assist with sanitation checks and learn the food safety regulations and supervision required, and the state laws related to food safety. Perhaps be given an individual project to plan all aspects (recipes, marketing, costing) of a special offering in the cafeteria such as a 4 th of July day (doesn t have to be on actual 4 th of July but that week) with foods typical to the celebration, etc. Observe and understand the role of supervision of kitchen staff Experience in catering if available 2. Selected experiences in clinical patient care, including outpatient such as: HIPPA training if available Interact with patients through activities such as collection of menus or assisting them in selection from menus if part of the process Observe nutritional assessments If allowed, collect selected assessment data Observe patient diet instructions If allowed, plan an educational class on a specific topic eg. Understanding food labels or Lower sodium cooking, etc. This can be an in-service training as well. Since you are a double major, observation and/or participation in rehabilitation that includes an exercise or wellness component 3. Selected experiences in the department office to observe/participate in the daily operation with regard to How diet orders are processed How food ordering is processed How menus are determined and analyzed, etc. Knowledge re. to how the department operates
Work experience activities in a fitness setting For a DPD major who was not also a NFH major* Possible goals and objectives for summer work in a fitness facility for a DPD major, NOT a double major with NFH. Therefore none of the below deal with fitness assessment. A metric needs to be developed for this type of experience. Following are metric templates that could be useful. NOTE: An evaluation metric would need to be developed specific to these types of activities to meet a F&N 590 OR F&N 330. Goal: Student will understand how a fitness facility operates. Objectives: Student will be able to describe how the facility is organized. Student will understand how the business plan for the facility works Student will be able to list how clients are recruited Student will be able to describe the general services available in the facility Goal: Student will work with clients who are serviced in the fitness facility. Objectives: Student will be able to discuss with the client their nutritional goals Student will assess the client s nutrition status. Student will be allowed to devise nutritional plans for the client based on appropriate nutrition/dietary guidelines. Any nutrition plan will address a minimum of the client s Calories, Lipid, Carbohydrate, Fiber, and Fluid intake. Additionally the nutrition plan will meet the client s nutrient needs as defined by acceptable standards in the country of the experience. Goal: If available, student will develop, deliver, and evaluate curricula. Objectives: Student will devise classes to teach concepts of nutrition. Student will deliver classes to teach concepts of nutrition Student will evaluate classes or other methods of educational delivery they developed *For double majors, add objectives related to fitness assessment, etc. or follow internships posted outside F&N office
REQUIREMENTS FOR PRACTICUM TO SUBSTITUTE FOR HTM 291L Following are suggested experiences in foodservice systems management to qualify for F&N 350, and potential waiver of HTM 291L. The student should register for F&N 350 and meet the general criteria for the course which is 8 weeks, full time (40hr) employment. ORIENTATION Student is given the orientation that a new employee would receive including information, when available, re. policies for kitchen safety, kitchen sanitation, fire emergency plan, attendance and sick leave, employee handbook, instructions to operate larger pieces of equipment or on site training for all institutional foodservice equipment (fryers, kettles, ovens, dishwasher) etc. Student is given the services organization chart if one is available Student is given an orientation to each unit in the service. This may be accomplished as the student moves from unit to unit during the summer work experience versus during an orientation time. This would include all those units in which the student will perform routine duties and include at least the following (or their like areas): Salad preparation area or cold prep area or side dishes preparation area Entrée preparation area or range area or not prep area Bakery area Other areas related to preparation eg., beverages Service line area or tray line area, if applicable Dining room/serving area Dish room area Additional areas, if available, include: Deli, catering, WORK EXPERIENCES Student should rotate among all the work areas listed above. The student will be asked to keep a log of activities related to each unit following a standard format outlining what they did, what they learned, etc., as well as a reflective report. Re. food safety/sanitation, the student should participate in standard quality control procedures to assure food safety and sanitation standards. These would include, but not be limited to, checking temperatures in storage units such as freezers and refrigerators, checking temperatures of food items on the service line and in holding areas, standards for temperature in cleansing dishes, etc. In the service line area, student should be involved in the positioning of items on the plate or tray, and be able to answer general questions re. importance of presentation and positioning in consumer selection. Student should be given the opportunity to introduce at least 1 new food item during their summer employment. The food items can be a salad, vegetable, dessert or baked item, or entrée. The recipe should be in keeping with the general menu selection items of the facility. The recipe must be standardized and prepared for at least 50 servings. The student should test the recipe on the staff and instruct them of any unique preparation needs for the new items. If possible the student should merchandize the item (display or market the item) on the line. The student should have knowledge of how any new product introduced sells. Note: The extra time associated with this project does NOT have to be within the work day since the student is receiving credit for this experience. The extra time
needed for this project MAY be outside the workday. Student should complete a project unique/helpful to the facility. Suggestions might include: - introduction of a product, or a suggested list of items marketed for the consumer who wishes a lower Calorie meal choice. Calorie contributions of the item(s) should be determined and listed for the consumer. - if the facility does not already offer, introduce new or different salad plates or other items particularly fitting for the summer season. The student should collect some evidence of the popularity or non-popularity of the new product via sales. ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE FACILITY: The student should be made aware of how the menu is determined, the ordering process for the raw products, how amounts are determined, if/how contracts are used, procedures for substitutions of menu items, etc. The student should participate in at least one receipt of a food order to view the process. The student should participate in a food inventory, if one is scheduled during their experience. EVALUATION: A person in a supervisory role should be in a position to evaluate the student s daily work and complete a rating scale after each service. This evaluation form will be developed once the facility lets the student know which parts of these suggestions can be accomplished. The student will complete an evaluation of the menu item they introduce and the project, if assigned, by the facility to turn into the instructor.
F&N 350 EVALUATION OF WORK EXPERIENCE IN LIEU OF HTM 291L To the evaluator: This evaluation tool should be completed by a person in a supervisory position over the student. Complete the following information re. title and role related to the student. Then use the column on the right to indicate the level of accomplishment at which the student completed each task listed on the left. At the end of the experience, contact the professor in charge for an e-mail version of the form OR forward the form to: (Faculty member in charge of the experience) Department of Foods and Nutrition 700 W State St. Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907 765-494-8238 woodo@purdue.edu Student s name Dates of work experience Approximate total hours of experience Evaluator s name and title Facility name and address Please use this check list to indicate the availability of experiences and the degree to which the student accomplished the experiences offered to them. TASK WAS Accomplished Was NOT Accomplished Student received orientation to the facility related to: Policies for foodservice safety Kitchen sanitation Fire emergency plans Attendance and sick leave Employee handbook Equipment instructions/on-site training for: Fryers, kettles, ovens, dishwasher, etc. Establishment s organization chart Orientation to the following units of service: Salad preparation area Entrée preparation area Side dishes preparation area Bakery area Beverages
Deli Catering Service line area Dining room area Dish room area Others, please indicate: WORK EXPERIENCES Please indicate to which degree of proficiency the student accomplished the following tasks by checking 1, 2, 3, or 4. (1: ABOVE EXPECTATIONS, 2:AVERAGE EXPECTATIONS, 3, BELOW EXPECTATIONS, 4, experience not available.) SCALE Food safety/sanitation: 1 2 3 4 Participated in standard quality control procedures Checked temperatures in following locations: Service Line Holding Line Dish Room Storage such as freezers, refrigerators Service Line areas: Positioned items on service line Understood principles of positioning items for marketability and aesthetic presentation Foodservice work stations: Salad preparation area Entrée preparation area Side dishes preparation area Bakery area Beverages Deli Catering Service line area Dining room area Dish room area Others, please indicate:
ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE FACILITY The student had awareness of the following as related to the facility: Offered How the menu is determined Not Offered If/how contracts are used Procedures for menu substitutions Food ordering process Food inventory process SPECIAL PROJECTS: Student should introduce 1 new product during the summer employment that is relative to the establishment clientele. The recipe must be standardized for at least 50 servings. The time required for this is on the student s own time versus during the work day. The recipe should be pre-tested on the staff before introduction to the line. Please comment on this special project: Did the facility request the student to complete any other special projects? If so, please describe and make comments related to the students success with the project. FINAL COMMENTS. Please make any final comments on the students performance during the summer experience. Thank you for facilitating this summer experience!
F&N 350 EVALUATION OF A WORK EXPERIENCE RELATED TO CES To the evaluator: This evaluation tool should be completed by a person in a supervisory position over the student. Complete the following information re. title and role of the supervisor. You will also be indicating the level of accomplishment at which the student completed the tasks. At the end of the experience, send this evaluation to the student s advisor. For, the advisor is: (Faculty member in charge of the experience) Department of Foods and Nutrition 700 W. State Street Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907 765-494-8238 burgessj@purdue.edu Student s name Dates of work experience Approximate total hours of experience Evaluator s name and title Facility name and address Please use this check list to indicate the availability of experiences and the degree to which the student accomplished the experiences offered to them. It is not required that every item be accomplished. ORIENTATION Accomplished WAS Accomplished WAS NOT Student received orientation to the facility related to: Discussion of how the program of work is normally structured at this site; who reports to whom. If available, establishment s organization chart Meeting the staff with whom they have contact Discussion of the usual work environment such as usual work hours, any policies related to items the student will need to use during the experience such phone, fax, copying, computers, etc. Equipment instructions/on-site training for anything the student may need during the work experience. Travel rules/regulations if this applies to the student. Any emergency plans in place for the facility such as tornado or fire emergency plans Attendance and sick leave policies and if/how they apply to the student work experience Employee handbook, if available Orientation to the following programs individual to this facility for this student. If the student worked in any of these programs, list, in general,
what they accomplished below each one. The student will also be keeping a log/portfolio of the summer experiences. It is not necessary for the student to do all of those listed. Kitchen Inventions RT2: Read, Touch, & Taste WIC Farmer s Market Teaching lessons to Extension Homemakers: Accompany supervisor to meetings: Assist FNP Assistant in developing nutrition education materials and/or visiting with FNP Assistant: Interactions with WIC Teaching in the library Helping with local food pantry newsletter Helping with Adaptive Nutrition Education curriculum Helping/writing press releases: Other, specify: ACTUAL STUDENT WORK EXPERIENCES Please indicate to which degree of proficiency the student accomplished the tasks assigned to them by checking 1, 2, 3, or 4. (1: ABOVE EXPECTATIONS, 2:AVERAGE EXPECTATIONS, 3, BELOW EXPECTATIONS, 4, experience not available.) Kitchen Inventions SCALE 1 2 3 4 RT2: Read, Touch, & Taste WIC Farmer s Market Teaching lessons to Extension Homemakers:
Accompany supervisor to meetings: Assist FNP Assistant in developing nutrition education materials and/or visiting with FNP Assistant: Interactions with WIC Teaching in the library Helping with local food pantry newsletter Helping with Adaptive Nutrition Education curriculum Helping/writing press releases: Other, specify: SPECIAL PROJECTS: Student should introduce 1 new product during the summer employment that is relative to the establishment s role/responsibilities. Please comment on this special project: Did the facility request the student to complete any other special projects? If so, please describe and make comments related to the students success with the project. FINAL COMMENTS. Please make any final comments on the students performance during the summer experience. Thank you for facilitating this summer experience!