Admission Requirements

In order to be eligible for admission into the BHS Dietetic Internship program candidates must meet the following criteria:

1. Bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college or university.
2. Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
3. Official transcripts of all college and/or university course work with final degree posted (if accepted into the program prior to completion of a bachelor’s degree, the candidate must provide the official transcript copy with final degree posted prior to entering the internship). Foreign degrees/transcripts must have an official evaluation (i.e wes, aacrao) stating equivalency to US degree.
4. An original verification statement from a ACEND approved/accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) if you are a graduate or an Intent to Complete Form if you have yet to graduate.
5. A minimum GRE score of 800 on combined verbal and quantitative portions of the exam (preferred, not required). The Baptist Health System Dietetic Internship unpublished GRE code is 1988.
6. Students whose DPD verification statements are 5 years or older are required to complete a minimum of 2 academic refresher courses prior to potential admission to the program. Courses may be taken at the undergraduate or graduate level from any accredited college or university (must provide an official transcript(s) to verify the completion of these classes). Due to the clinical intensity of this program, one course must be a general nutrition course and the other must be a diet therapy/clinical nutrition course. 
 

Application Requirements

1. For the Spring 2012 dietetic internship match, the Baptist Health System Dietetic Internship will be participating in the Dietetic Internship Centralized Application System (DICAS). The program may be accessed at https://portal.dicas.org , e-mail DICASinfo@DICAS.org . The on-line application must be completed for our program by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 15, 2012. The fee to use DICAS is $40 for the first application submitted and $20 for each additional application.
2. When completing the application form, applicants must include the name and contact information (specifically an e-mail address) for each reference. This will trigger an e-mail message requesting completion of a reference form. The form will be completed on-line. Students submitting more than one application will need to use the same individuals as references for each application.
3. Applicants who apply to internships using DICAS will be asked to complete a personal statement. Questions to be addressed in the personal statement include:
• Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
• Discuss experiences that have helped to prepare you for your career,
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses or areas needing improvement?
• 1000 Word limit
4. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended should be sent to: 
      DICAS- Transcript Dept
        PO Box 9118
        Watertown, Ma 02472
5. Applicants must also register online for computer matching at www.dnddigital.com and select dietetic internship priority choices by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 15, 2012. There is a $50.00 computer-matching fee. The full time option D & D code is 166.  The part time (PhD) option D & D code is 159.
6. Submit this cover sheet and a nonrefundable $50.00 fee (payable to: Baptist Medical Center). Both the cover sheet & payment must be postmarked by February 15, 2012 (note that if payment is not received your application will not be reviewed for consideration to our program).
7. Final candidates will be required to participate in a telephone interview.
   

*Application packets are rated with consideration to GPA (overall/DPD/science), letters of recommendation, personal  statement, work experience, honors/scholarship, and overall quality of the application packet. A phone interview will be scheduled for those final candidates.

Acceptance Procedure

April 1, 2012:   Personal match results will be available online from D & D Digital systems at 6:00pm Central Daylight Time.

April 3, 2012:   Applicants must telephone Kevin Haubrick MS, RD, LD at 210-297-7649 to confirm the acceptance or rejection of a computer match on or before 5:00 PM CST.

By April 13, 2012:   Applicants must secure position in the internship with a non-refundable payment of a $500.00 fee* (payable to the Baptist Medical Center).  Send the fee to:

        Kevin Haubrick MS, RD, LD
        Dietetic Internship Director
        111 Dallas street
        San Antonio, Texas  78205

*(Please note that the acceptance fee of $500.00 is a separate fee from the tuition fee of $5,500.00, which is due at the start of the internship in August of each year)

Post Acceptance Requirements

1. BHS new employee orientation
2. Proof of negative TB skin testing (1 –2 depending on when the last one was completed)
3. Negative drug screening urinalysis
4. Criminal background check
5. Proof of current immunizations (proof of tetanus within the past 10 years or signed declination form and vaccines or titers to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. If the interns do not have either, they need to have lab work drawn)
6. Proof of health insurance
7. Proof of student liability insurance

TIPS for using DICAS

1. Highly consider viewing the 11-minute video for DICAS which I found on the CADE website (Computer Matching page) http://www.eatright.org/CADE/content.aspx?id=186  
2. Payment -- a student is not prompted for payment until he/she clicks "submit."  Students can create an account and work on personal statements and information as much as they want without providing any payment.  If the student does not decide to submit any applications, they owe DICAS nothing.
3. Changes to application -- once an application has been submitted through DICAS, the student cannot make any changes or withdraw their application through DICAS.  If there was a situation that required a change or withdrawal, they would then need to contact the program directly.
4. GPA -- it is true that GPA is calculated for the student once they submit some necessary information (i.e. academic format such as semester vs. trimester). However, if a school uses "units" instead, the student must first do these conversions based on the information on the back of their transcript (usually) or with help from their registrar's office.  DICAS works in grade points only.
   
5. Personal Statement -- students can create multiple personal statements in their DICAS account -- one for each program they are applying to.  However, they should be informed that there are 2 places in the submission process where they need to SELECT the specific personal statement in order for it to be included in the application.  They will get an error message from DICAS if they try to submit without selecting the personal statement.
6. Status Bar -- students can check the status of each submission and be informed of things like whether their transcripts have been received, references have been completed, or GPA has been calculated.