Preceptors

Students in our Program complete clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and food service rotations. We strive to continually add new sites for our students to work with diverse populations in a variety of different settings. Our current sites include major NYC hospitals, long-term care facilities, private practices, eating disorder centers, prenatal/postpartum programs, gastroenterology centers, food banks, tech companies, schools, and more. 

If you are interested in becoming a preceptor for the Program in Nutrition, please reach out to Integrated MS-RDN Track Director, Jennifer Hildner, MS, RDN, CDN, at hildner@tc.columbia.edu. 

The Program in Nutrition’s Integrated MS-RDN Track is an ACEND-accredited program that blends didactic education and supervised experiential learning together in an intensive two-year, 12-month-per-year program.

The Integrated MS-RDN Track offers three specializations: Nutrition Education, Nutrition and Public Health, and Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. All share a common core of courses plus unique specialization courses. 

Our Program welcomes diverse students, empowering them to become nutrition leaders through a rigorous curriculum and supervised worksite practice. Graduates use research, advocacy, and behavior change strategies to inspire healthy physical activity and food choices, to prevent and manage diet-related medical conditions, to transform the food system, and to improve food access for all.

The Program in Nutrition is committed to:

• Explicitly integrating issues of race, food justice, and inclusion into the program’s vision, curriculum, and practicum-based opportunities.
• Faculty, staff and students gaining personal and professional skills to advance racial equity, food justice and inclusion in what we do, in all the diverse communities in which we live and work.  
• Creating a supportive environment for each other and for students of all backgrounds.

The Integrated MS-RDN Track has two main goals with several objectives that support each one.

Goal 1: Program graduates will be prepared for entry-level and leadership roles in nutrition education, public health nutrition, and nutrition and exercise physiology.

Objectives:

• At least 80% of students complete program requirements within 3 years (150% of the program length).
• At least 80% of part-time program graduates complete the program/degree requirements within five years (125% of the program length).
• At least 80% of graduates who respond to the exit survey will rate the quality of the Integrated MS-RDN Track as good or excellent.
• At least 80% percent of program graduates take the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists within 12 months of program completion.
• The program’s one-year pass rate (graduates who pass the registration exam within one year of first attempt) on the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists is at least 80%.
• Of graduates who seek employment, at least 80% percent are employed in nutrition and dietetics or related fields within 12 months of graduation. 

Goal 2: Program graduates will be prepared to enhance motivation, facilitate action, and create supportive environments to assist diverse individuals, groups, and communities to make healthful, just, and sustainable dietary and lifestyle choices.

Objectives:

• At least 80% of employers who respond to the Employer Satisfaction Survey describe our program graduates' preparation as good or excellent in each of the following areas: integrating research, theory and practice; enhancing healthful, just, and sustainable food choices and active lives; and working effectively with diverse individuals, groups, and communities.
• At least 80% of program graduates who respond to the Alumni Satisfaction Survey describe their preparation as good or excellent in each of the following areas: integrating research, theory and practice; enhancing healthful, just, and sustainable food choices and active lives; and working effectively with diverse individuals, groups, and communities.

The Integrated MS-RDN Track is accredited as a Graduate Degree Program (Future Education Model) by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). In order to maintain this accreditation, our Program must meet all of the ACEND Standards. You can see the full list of ACEND Standards for Nutrition & Dietetic Graduate Degree Programs here.

The Integrated MS-RDN Track follows a competency-based education model. This means it is an outcomes-based approach designed to enable a progression of competence and abilities.

The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) has defined competencies that students must achieve through their coursework and supervised experiential learning opportunities. Achievement is measured using performance indicators as criteria. Each performance indicator is assessed at the Knows, Shows or Does level. Students receive ongoing feedback as well as numerous opportunities to master the competencies.

As of 2024, there are 37 competencies that are satisfied by 220 performance indicators. There are also enhanced competencies for graduate programs. The Integrated MS-RDN Track assesses all 220 performance indicators to ensure graduates have maximum competence possible when leaving the program. You will see performance indicator numbers on course syllabi and supervised experiential learning (SEL) evaluation forms. The full list of program competencies and performance indicators can be found in Appendix A of the ACEND Standards for Nutrition & Dietetic Graduate Degree Programs, and the list of enhanced competencies can be found here.

Preceptors for the Teachers College Program in Nutrition are asked to complete at least one training in each of the following categories:

• Precepting
• Competency-Based Education
• Diversity, Bias & Microaggression

A preferred list of training modules within each category is listed below. Preceptors may also complete training modules within each category from sources other than those provided below (e.g. at your organization, at conferences, etc.).

All new preceptors are asked to complete one training in each category within 3 months of becoming a TC preceptor. The same is true for current preceptors who have never completed such training. Otherwise, current preceptors are asked to complete additional training in the categories of Precepting and Diversity, Bias, and Microaggression at least once every 5 years.

Preferred Preceptor Trainings

Precepting

• Preceptor Training Program from ACEND - Free [8 CPEU] 
• “Characteristics of Effective Preceptors Self Assessment” from the University of Northern Colorado. 
• NDEP’s webinar slides “Guide to Being an Effective Preceptor: Part 1 & Part 2” - Free [No CPEU]

Competency-Based Education

• Read the section titled "FEM Accreditation Standards Curriculum and Terminology" on pages 4 & 5 of "Future Education Model Accreditation Standards for Programs in Nutrition and Dietetics FAQ" from March 2018 - Free [No CPEU]

Diversity, Bias & Microaggression

• Help all Students to Thrive: An Introduction to Culturally Sustaining Teaching - 60 minutes - Free [1 CPEU]
  • Webinar Recording & Slides
  • CPEU Certificate
• Interrupting Microaggressions - 54 minutes - Free [1 CPEU]
  • Webinar Recording, Slides & Handout
  • CPEU Certificate
• Inclusive Teaching Strategies for Dietetic Educators in Higher Education - 60 minutes - Free [1 CPEU]
  • Webinar Recording & Slides
  • CPEU Certificate
• NDEP webinar slides “Diversity and Inclusion in Dietetics: Educators as Allies and Advocates” [No CPEU] 
• "Be a Better Ally". Harvard Business Review Magazine. Nov-Dec 2020. - Free [No CPEU]

Additional Training Resources

The following resources may be of interest to you as a preceptor & practitioner:

• Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Ethics Reading List: 
  • Ethics in Practice: Applications for the Nutrition and Dietetics Practitioner (Self Study) - 5 CPEUs (free)
• Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Resources
• ACEND Series of Webinars on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (1-1.5 CPEU each) - Free
  • ACEND offers a series of webinars to address diversity, equity and inclusion in its accredited programs.
• DeBiasse MA, Burt KG. Inclusion is an action word. Journal of Critical Dietetics. 2019;4(2):86-90. https://doi.org/10.32920/cd.v4i2.1327
• Diversity and Inclusion Definitions from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
• Lewis TT, Cogburn CD, Williams DR. Self-reported experiences of discrimination and health: scientific advances, ongoing controversies, and emerging issues. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2015;11:407-440. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112728
• September-November NDEP Inclusive Events & Observances Calendar, created by the NDEP DEI Committee

• Code of Ethics for the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession
  • See this practitioner handout for additional information and resources related to the Code of Ethics.
• Revised 2024 Scope and Standards of Practice for the RDN

When you serve as a preceptor for an ACEND-accredited dietetics program, you can earn continuing professional education units (CPEUs).

There is a maximum of 3 CPEUs that can be earned each year, resulting in a maximum of 15 CPEUs per 5-year reporting period.

To be awarded the CPEUs, you need to complete this Preceptor Confirmation & Self-Reflection Form. Once you have completed it, please email it to Jennifer Hildner, the Integrated MS-RDN Track Director. She will sign & date the form and return it to you. You can then log your CPEUs with the CDR, including uploading the signed form since it serves as audit documentation.

For more information, please review the CDR's website on CPEU Credit for Preceptors and the CDR CPE Activity Type Definitions for Activity Type 190 Professional Leadership/Precepting.