During 2017, the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will be highlighting our members and what they do as the ‘Nutrition Experts’ for our great state of Idaho. Today we are recognizing:
Ruth Schneider, MPH, RDN, LD, FAND
Coordinator of the Dietetic Internship at the Idaho State University Meridian Health Sciences Center
As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, what do you do?
Ruth Schneider works at Idaho State University Meridian Health Sciences Center as the Coordinator of the Dietetic Internship. To become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, one must complete an undergraduate or graduate program in Food and Nutrition or Dietetics, and also do 1200 hours of supervised practice (the internship) to be able to sit for the registration exam.
As Coordinator, Ruth teaches interns on class days, and coordinates their rotations in hospitals, long term care facilities, health departments, outpatient counseling, diabetes and kidney disease, as well as food service management in a variety of sites (schools, hospitals and non-profits).
Ruth loves my job because she enjoys teaching, and she enjoys interacting with all of the preceptors in the Treasure Valley who work with ISU interns.
What are the benefits you have seen from your services in the Idaho community?
Many interns have stayed in the Treasure Valley and are working as RDNs in places such as school lunch, clinical/hospital dietetics, Idaho Foodbank, Idaho Dairy Council, and WIC.
The ISU Meridian Health Sciences Center has several multi-disciplinary projects, which both help the community and provide learning opportunities for interns. We are in our seventh year of Community Health Screening clinics, which are provided 6 times a year at various sites. These screenings target low income populations, and the intent is to screen for problems and refer before problems become emergencies and lead to an ER visit.
ISU also has a senior refugee home visit grant that is interdisciplinary. This provides opportunities for interns to work with nursing, nurse practitioner, and pharmacy students to provide follow-up care in homes for refugees. Cultural competency is a large part of this program, as interpreters are needed at all visits, and refugees come from diverse areas of the world.
Because the ISU internship has a community focus, interns work in the community to improve access to food in a variety of ways, such as working with food pantries to improve the quality of food boxes, and providing food demonstrations on how to use less familiar foods that may be part of a Foodbank box.
How can someone reach you to access your services?
To learn more about the dietetic internship, and all dietetic programs at ISU, please visit www.isu.edu/dietetics. To reach Ruth Schneider at the Meridian center, call 208-373-1729, or e-mail her at schnruth@isu.edu.
Thank you Ruth for all that you do for our great state of Idaho!
To learn more about the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and how you can join, please visit eatrightidaho.org.
To find a Idaho Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in your area, please click here
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