Navigate your Professional Development using our M.A.P.!

Education shouldn't end once you graduate from this internship!  As a service to our honored alumni, we invite you to use our Mentored Alumni Program. Here, you will find a variety of resources and tools to help you achieve both your short and long-term career goals. 

What is Professional Development? According to the Academy's Center for Professional Development (must log in first, then click on link), it is lifelong learning to increase knowledge and cultivate skills through multi-disciplinary learning opportunities, enhanced technology and high-quality programming.  Read further about services to assist our alumni achieve professional development--primarily managed by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) at www.cdrnet.org

1. CDR and the RD Exam

Before you take this exam, you are considered "Registration Eligible" and should write this out behind your name (NEVER write "RDE").  Below lists several resources to prepare and take the RD exam:

• Flowchart/timelinesto sign up for RD exam: click here
• RD exam testing criteria effective 1/1/12: click here 
• CDR's Fact Sheet on Computerized Testing: click here
• CDR's RD exam registration handbook: click here 
• ACT Testing Centers: click here
• RD exam study resources: click here 
  • RDsecrets (2010 PDF text)
  • RD exam sample study questions:  set 1, set 2, set 3, set 4 CDR's website: www.cdrnet.org
  • Commentary on RD exam from past interns

SAVE AND PRINT EVERY CORRESPONDENCE FROM ACT and CDR AND BRING TO TESTING CENTER ALONG WITH PICTURE ID. NAME ON ID MUST MATCH NAMES ON ALL CDR and ACT DOCUMENTS TO TAKE THE TEST!

2. CDR and State Licensure

The majority of states have enacted laws which regulate the practice of dietetics. Should you plan to practice in these states it is important that you contact the state regulatory agency prior to obtaining employment or practicing dietetics. For a list of state regulatory agencies, please refer to this website: http://www.cdrnet.org/certifications/licensure/agencylist.cfm for a full list of contacts and legislature for each state. Another suggestion is to contact your local or state dietetic association for guidance as every state is different!  Some (Georgia for example) require a "conditional" license even as a "registration eligible" status.  Others (South Caroline) do not require you to apply for licensure until AFTER you become an RD.  Click here for a state-by-state overview of the required CPEs and frequency of renewal. 

Employers and RDs can complete an online verification the RD's standing with CDR here:

3. CDR and the Professional Development Portfolio

You must also learn about your Professional Development Porfolio, a process you MUST maintain for RD status.  Watch this video to learn how to develop your PDP (including a supplemental video reflecting updates made from this initial training video).

Log-in link to CDR's online PDP management program (log-in same as AND)

4.  Continuing Professional Education

Remember, you need 75 Continuing Professional Educatioin Units (CPEU)s every 5 years documented in your PDP (1 year = 6/1-5/31). Traditional ways to gain CPEs inlcuding the attendance to a guest lecture or conference, watching a webinar, or attending a journal club.  Non-traditional ways have become popular because they are unique to each RDs learning needs and can be more convenient in terms of scheduling and costs.  They can range from:

• professional leadership, such as holding an office at a district, state, or national professional association
• research, such as publishing/presenting a peer-reviewed manuscript
• sponsored indepedent learning by establishing a learning contract to train under an expert mentor,
• professional readings for peer-reviewed, dietetics-related articles such as from JAND
• experiential skill development, such as proven training/certificate of completion in culinary skills, physical assessment, or computer/technology
• aquiring an advance practice "certified specialist" credential (i.e. CSSD, CDE, etc) or skill-building trainings (adult wt management training certification). 

Below are links to search for continuing education credits offered either via this internship or from professional organizations:

• FREE CPEs
  • Annual membership to local dietetic assocications often provide speaker series CEUs at no cost (once you paid the local dietetic association membership fee)
  • If you become a preceptor for MUSC, you will be sent email notices of upcoming CPEs, such as watching intern case studies live or remotely
  • If you become a preceptor for ANY DI, go to CDR's "Assess and Learn" and obtain 8 CEUS for an online preceptor training module here. 
  • The Academy's Dietetic Practice Group listings--many offer free CEUs to member.  If you become a preceptor for ANY program, you get a 1 year free membership (2012-2013 year) to NDEP (Nutrition and Dietetics Educators and Preceptors practice group) ONLY be going to this website.
  • The Journal's Article Quiz Series (free to AND members; CPEUS managed by CDR) 
    • Log in to your CDR profile page and click on "journal article quiz" to select from recent (past 1 year) JAND articles pertinent to your PDP learning codes.  This is a GREAT way to earn CPEs quickly and easily (but there is a limited number you can earn each year via this source)
• CPEs for a charge
  • Attending state and national nutrition meetings (SCDA, FNCE, etc)
  • CDR's CPE listing site:
    • "Assess and Learn" modules
    • adult & child weight management training programs and self study modules
    • approved CPE database to search for applicable trainings in the form of reviously-recorded or upcoming CPE events/offerings
  • The Academy's Center for Professional Development site:
    • search for upcoming face-to-face meetings or live teleseminars
    • find individual distance learning programs to learn at your own pace, such as self-study modules and taped webinars/seminars

5.  Career Tools

Needing help developing a resume or refine your CV?  Running out of options to search for job openings? Want more experience in interviewing strategies--on either end of the table?  Below are some useful links to help cultivate your HR skills.

Per the Academy: click here (must login first)  to find the following:

• Job Postings
• Career Toolbox
• Interactive Salary Tool 
• Mentoring and career guidance opportunities 
• Resume templates
• Volunteer opportunities 
• and MANY MORE RESOURCES!

• Suggested Nutrition and Dietetics Suggested Job Listing Websites: click here 
• RESUME tips and examples: click here 
• CURRICUUM VITAE examples:  click here
• COVER LETTER tips and examples:  click here
• INTERVIEWING tips and sample questions:  click here
• UT Austin's career services website (great for general information):  click here
• Convince your employer hire an RD!  click here for this justification document
• Description of web-based portfolio builders:  click here

6.  Advance Practice Certification

Right away (or 10 years from now), consider completing a certificate training in adult and/or pediatric weight management offered by CDR (and get CEUs!) either as an online module or in-person seminar. Completion does NOT warrant additional letters behind your name. 

After at least 1 or 2 years of experience in one practice area, consider the following options below (among other options). These board-certified credentials DO warrant letters behind your name. In order to obtain these, you must typically document 1000+ hours and pass an additional board exam.  Many require the exam to be taken every 5 years thereafter.  Notice that MUSC mentors are availabe for each listed credential to assist in the preparation.

CDR-certification page:

• Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition (CSP):  Carrie Finch
• Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition (CSR): Vanessa Jones
• Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD):  Charlotte Caperton-Kilburn
• Certified Specialist in Oncology (CSO):  Mike Stafford
• Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition (SPG): Kelley Martin

Others:

• National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators Certified Diabetes Educator:   Ashleigh Ricevuto or Katherine Boyce
• American Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutriation's Certified Nutrition Support Clinician:  Kristi Fogg

Search "MUSC Dietetic intern alumni" and join our group page.  Network with current and graduate interns.  They may be living or working down the road from you! 

8. Stay Current 

The M.A.P. committee members often find information and/or tools that we feel could be useful to you and to encourage LIFE-L.  Some of these postings may seem random, but we feel they are important enough to share. 

• The Basics that every RD should know:
  • Convince the public that RDs are the food and nutrition experts using this RD Promotional Toolkit: click here
  • The Academy's Code of Ethics (updated 2010): click here 
  • Brief overview of MNT billable services: click here
  • The Academy's 2008 Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for Registered Dietitians:  click here
  • Guidelines for proper credential order placement: click here  
• Other useful information
  • The Academy's Evidence Analysis Library: click here
  • The Academy's newsletters-manage at a daily, weekly, or or weekly email subscription:  click here
  • The Academy's video library:  click here
  • The Academy's "Tip of the Day", "Question of the Day", and other public info: click here

9. Final Advice

If there are two final suggestions this internship hopes to instill in each intern graduate , they are:

1. Actively participate in your local or state dietetics association.  Strive to be an officer or a committee member within 5 years of being an RD
2. Become a preceptor. Reach out to local DI or DPD programs to offer to teach a lecture, precept a supervised practice experience, or mentor over an assignment/project!  By providing this much needed service, you can earn CEUs, add to your resume/CV, and feel good about teaching our future.  Plus, interns force you to stay current and promote lifelong learning!

10. Providing Feedback on this Program

We need your feedback to ensure M.A.P. is fostering your professional path. Comments, suggestions, and additional resources are welcome: