South Dakota State University
Nutrition and Dietetic Internship
Prior Assessed Learning Procedure and Application
Credit for prior experiences in various aspects of the nutrition field may be granted in the supervised practice
portion of the internship. The number of required supervised hours to be completed during the internship and the
number of assignments required to be completed may be reduced upon review of prior learning experiences. This
may mean that the intern may be able to complete program requirements ahead of schedule.
Internship fees are not reduced for those who receive credit for prior learning. However, the cost of participating
in the internship may be reduced if fewer hours need to be completed as there may be reduced driving time
(reduced mileage costs) and other costs associated with completing supervised practice hours such as meals away
from home.
Nutrition experiences will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Any experiences that are requested must have
occurred outside of undergraduate dietetic coursework and didactic program activities. How recent the
experiences took place will be taken into consideration in the evaluation of prior learning experiences as well as
well as how closely the prior learning experience matches to current experiences required of dietetic interns.
Generally, experiences occurring more than 5 years prior will not be considered for prior learning credit. It is up
to the discretion of the internship program director as to whether prior learning experiences older than 5 years
will be considered for prior learning.
PAL Procedure:
 PAL applications will be considered after an intern is officially accepted into the SDSU NDI.
 PAL applications must be submitted to the NDI Program Director by June 1st prior to starting the NDI Practicum
and Orientation course and the subsequent supervised practice rotations. Late or incomplete PAL
applications will not be considered.
 PAL applications will be submitted electronically and sent via email to the NDI Program Director, Becky Jensen,
MS, RD, LN (becky.jensen@sdstate.edu)
 The SDSU NDI Program Director will review the application package and determine how much credit will be
allowed towards supervised practice hours. The NDI Program Director reserves the right to contact the intern
for additional documentation and clarification if deemed appropriate.
 Credit for PAL is granted for learning, not just number of years worked or work experience.
 The maximum amount of PAL that could potentially be allowed are:
o Up to 160 hours of management
o Up to 120 hours of community
o Up to 120 hours of clinical
 Total PAL may not exceed 400 hours.
PAL Application Packet:
The PAL application packet materials can be downloaded from the SDSU NDI website.
Resume: Provide a brief description of education, work, volunteer and service experiences. Page limit = 3 pages.
PAL Application: When completing the PAL application: describe how your responsibilities have increased as you
continued in your career, share examples of staff interactions, share examples of client education and describe
projects. Examples of evidence that are helpful could include: sample projects and reports, letters from
employer, clients and co-workers, job descriptions, copies of licenses, certificates, etc.
SDSU NDI Prior Assessed Learning (PAL) Application
Name (last):
Current address:
(first):
City:
Phone:
State:
Zip:
Email:
Identify your different work and life experiences which provide you with advanced knowledge and skills. The "job
code" you assign to each experience will be used in Column A in the competency tables.
Please note: experiences must be outside of your undergraduate degree assignments, practicum and field
experiences.
Job
Job Title Dates (mm/yy to Person to contact to
Brief description
Code
mm/yy)
verify
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Add additional numbers/lines if needed.
Review the skills and activities listed below and then describe, the experiences that have provided you with the
described competency.
ACEND Competency
Job
Code
Describe work/life or
professional/continuing
education experiences
(excluding college coursework
used to complete degree
and/or DPD verification.)
Describe what was learned.
Describe how professional
growth was achieved.
1. Scientific and Evidence Base of Practice: integration of scientific information and research into practice.
CRD 1.1
Select indicators of
program quality and/or
customer service and
measure achievement of
objectives. (Tip: Outcomes
may include clinical,
programmatic, quality,
productivity, economic or
other outcomes in wellness,
management, sports,
clinical settings, etc.)
CRD 1.2
Apply evidence-based
guidelines, systematic
reviews and scientific
literature (such as the
Academy’s Evidence
Analysis Library and
Evidence-based Nutrition
Practice Guidelines, the
Cochrane Database of
Systematic Reviews and the
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services,
Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality,
National Guideline
Clearinghouse Web sites) in
the nutrition care process
and model and other areas
of dietetics practice.
CRD 1.3
Justify programs, products,
services and care using
appropriate evidence or
data.
CRD 1.4
Evaluate emerging research
for application in dietetics
practice.
CRD 1.5
Conduct projects using
appropriate research
methods, ethical
procedures and data
analysis.
2. Professional Practice Expectations: beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors for the professional dietitian level of
practice.
CRD 2.1
Practice in compliance with
current federal regulations
and state statutes and
rules, as applicable and in
accordance with
accreditation standards
and the Scope of Dietetics
Practice and Code of Ethics
for the Profession of
Dietetics.
CRD 2.2
Demonstrate professional
writing skills in preparing
professional
communications.
(Tip: Examples include
research manuscripts,
project proposals,
education materials,
policies and procedures.)
CRD 2.3
Design, implement and
evaluate presentations to a
target audience.
(Tip: A quality presentation
considers life experiences,
cultural diversity and
educational background of
the target audience.)
CRD 2.4
Use effective education
and counseling skills to
facilitate behavior change.
CRD 2.5
Demonstrate active
participation, teamwork
and contributions in group
settings.
CRD 2.6
Assign patient care
activities to DTRs and/or
support personnel as
appropriate.
(Tip: In completing the
task, students/interns
should consider the needs
of the patient/client or
situation, the ability of
support personnel,
jurisdictional law, practice
guidelines and policies
within the facility.)
CRD 2.7
Refer clients and patients
to other professionals and
services when needs are
beyond individual scope of
CRD 2.8
CRD 2.9
practice.
Apply leadership principles
to achieve desired
outcomes.
Participate in professional
and community
organizations.
(Tip: Professional and
Community Organizations
 Community-based
supervised practice
experiences need not
take place in a
dietetics-related
organization.
Experiences may occur
in local community
organizations such as
United Way, food
banks such as Second
Harvest, or even faithbased organizations
such as the Salvation
Army. Experiences can
also occur at sister
units of the program
within the parent
organization such as an
outpatient clinic or a
campus fitness center.
 Professional and
community
organizations provide
many opportunities for
students to develop
leadership skills. They
do not have to hold an
elected position to
demonstrate
leadership. For
example, the program
can create community
based projects where a
group of students is
asked to serve under
the leadership of
another student. After
a task or set of tasks is
successfully
accomplished, another
student may be
selected to lead the
group in accomplishing
CRD 2.10
CRD 2.11
CRD 2.12
CRD 2.13
different tasks, until
eventually, all students
get to take a leadership
role.)
Establish collaborative
relationships with other
health professionals and
support personnel to
deliver effective nutrition
services.
(Tip: Other health
professionals include
physicians, nurses,
pharmacists, etc.)
Demonstrate professional
attributes within various
organizational cultures.
(Tip: Professional
attributes include showing
initiative and proactively
developing solutions,
advocacy, customer focus,
risk taking, critical thinking,
flexibility, time
management, work
prioritization and work
ethic.)
Perform self assessment,
develop goals and
objectives and prepare a
draft portfolio for
professional development
as defined by the
Commission on Dietetic
Registration.
Demonstrate negotiation
skills.
(Tip: Demonstrating
negotiating skills includes
showing assertiveness
when needed, while
respecting the life
experiences, cultural
diversity and educational
background of the other
parties.)
3. Clinical and Customer Services: development and delivery of information, products and services to individuals,
groups and populations.
CRD 3.1
Perform the Nutrition Care
Process (a through e
below) and use
standardized nutrition
language for individuals,
groups and populations of
differing ages and health
status, in a variety of
settings.
CRD 3.1.a
Assess the nutritional
status of individuals,
groups and populations in a
variety of settings where
nutrition care is or can be
delivered.
CRD 3.1.b Diagnose
nutrition problems and
create problem, etiology,
signs and symptoms (PES)
statements.
CRD 3.1.c Plan and
implement nutrition
interventions to include
prioritizing the nutrition
diagnosis, formulating a
nutrition prescription,
establishing goals and
selecting and managing
intervention.
CRD 3.1.d Monitor and
evaluate problems,
etiologies, signs, symptoms
and the impact of
interventions on the
nutrition diagnosis.
CRD 3.1.e Complete
documentation that follows
professional guidelines,
guidelines required by
health care systems and
guidelines required by the
practice setting.
CRD 3.2
Demonstrate effective
communications skills for
clinical and customer
services in a variety of
formats.
(Tip: Formats include oral,
print, visual, electronic and
mass media methods for
CRD 3.3
CRD 3.4
CRD 3.5
CRD 3.6
maximizing client
education, employee
training and marketing.)
Develop and deliver
products, programs or
services that promote
consumer health, wellness
and lifestyle management.
(Tip: Students/Interns
should consider health
messages and interventions
that integrate the
consumer’s desire for taste,
convenience and economy
with the need for nutrition
and food safety.)
Deliver respectful, sciencebased answers to
consumer questions
concerning emerging
trends.
(Tip: Students/Interns
should demonstrate and
promote responsible use of
resources including
employees, money, time,
water, energy, food and
disposable goods.)
Coordinate procurement,
production, distribution
and service of goods and
services.
Develop and evaluate
recipes, formulas and
menus for acceptability and
affordability that
accommodate the cultural
diversity and health needs
of various populations,
groups and individuals.
4. Practice Management and Use of Resources: strategic application of principles of management and systems in the
provision of services to individuals and organizations.
CRD 4.1
Participate in management
of human resources.
CRD 4.2
Perform management
functions related to safety,
security and sanitation that
affect employees,
customers, patients,
facilities and food.
CRD 4.3
Participate in public policy
activities, including both
legislative and regulatory
initiatives.
CRD 4.4
Conduct clinical and
customer service quality
management activities.
CRD 4.5
Use current informatics
technology to develop,
store, retrieve and
disseminate information
and data.
CRD 4.6
Prepare and analyze
quality, financial or
productivity data and
develops a plan for
intervention.
CRD 4.7
Propose and use
procedures as appropriate
to the practice setting to
reduce waste and protect
the environment.
(Tip: Students/Interns are
encouraged to promote
environmentally-friendly
practices, so that future
generations have the
water, materials, and
resources to protect human
health and life on the
planet. Practical steps
include using local
ingredients; not wasting
food and resources; using
efficacious, non-toxic
products when available;
properly disposing of toxic
materials; reusing
containers and products;
recycling when possible;
purchasing products with
recycled content; and
teaching others the value of
CRD 4.8
CRD 4.9
CRD 4.10
CRD 4.11
sustainability.)
Conduct feasibility studies
for products, programs or
services with consideration
of costs and benefits.
Analyze financial data to
assess utilization of
resources.
Develop a plan to provide
or develop a product,
program or service that
includes a budget, staffing
needs, equipment and
supplies.
Code and bill for
dietetic/nutrition services
to obtain reimbursement
from public or private
insurers.
Community Nutrition Concentration Area Competencies Specific to the SDSU NDI
CN 5.1
Utilize an interdisciplinary
approach to complete a
community needs
assessment involving an
area of nutrition, health
and wellness or physical
activity.
CN 5.2
Utilize needs assessment
findings and a theoretical
framework for planning,
implementing, evaluating
and sustaining a program.
CN 5.3
Provide at least one
component of a
community-driven
program, assess outcomes
and document impact.
PAL Application adapted from the prior assessed learning application found online at Iowa State University.