The Be Well Solutions Dietetic Internship program participates in Prior Assessed Learning (PAL), recognized by The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) to acknowledge applicants who have significant work experience. Applicants may be granted credit towards rotation-specific supervised practice hours if they demonstrate that their prior experience meets the competencies defined by ACEND for an entry-level RDN. To be eligible to apply, the applicant must have been in their position for more than 12 months, full-time, or the equivalent.

Examples of prior experiences may include but are not limited to:

  • NDTR in a hospital
  • WIC nutritionist
  • Certified health coach working at a corporate wellness company
  • Foodservice staff and/or director for a dining hall.

Examples of prior experience that would not count as credit towards PAL may include but are not limited to:

  • Any undergraduate course-related practicum or experience
  • Food distribution volunteer at a food bank
  • Personal trainer at an athletic facility.
  • Owning a nutrition coaching business

All experiences need to have been done in a supervised context. Self-employed experiences do not qualify for PAL. While credit is awarded in terms of supervised practice hours, it is assessed based on the competency attained, not the number of hours spent in the experience. Please contact bwsdi@bewellsolutions.com with any questions.

Policy

  • Be Well Solutions DI may grant up to 300 of the required 1,040 supervised practice hours as PAL.
  • There is no reduction in tuition if PAL credit is awarded.
  • Regardless of awarded PAL credit, the graduation date will not change, and the intern is required to attend Orientation, Exit Class, and the Wellness Workshop.
  • Applicants may apply for PAL credit in up to two of the following rotations:
    1. Foodservice – up to 80 hours
    2. Community – up to 160 hours
    3. Wellness – up to 160 hours
    4. Clinical – up to 160 hours

To be eligible to apply to more than 1 rotation, the applicant must demonstrate that they have at least 12 months of experience per rotation.

  • BWS DI will decide on how many hours are awarded
  • BWS DI does not charge a fee to review PAL applications.
  • The deadline to apply for PAL is two weeks after acceptance into the program. BWS DI encourages applicants to submit their PAL application as soon as possible to allow adjustments in their rotation schedules if needed.

Application Instructions:

The applicant must submit the following by email to bwsdi@bewellsolutions.com with the subject line PAL Application for [name]. Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.

  1. BWS DI PAL Application
  2. Completed and signed Rotation Competency Form(s)
    1. PAL Rotation Competency Assessment Form Clinical
    2. PAL Rotation Competency Assessment Form Community
    3. PAL Rotation Competency Assessment Form Foodservice
    4. PAL Rotation Competency Assessment Form Wellness
  3. Any additional materials requested by the PAL committee. Additional materials must be submitted by the intern within 1 week of request.

The PAL committee will review the application and will provide a final decision as to how many (if any) supervised practice hours can be granted as PAL. Decisions will be provided within two weeks of application receipt.

The decision of the PAL committee is final.