The dietetic practicum for both the MScFN and DDEPT programs offer a comprehensive learning experience designed to provide you with the hands-on dietetic skills essential for a career in dietetics.
Diverse Placement Settings: From hospitals, long-term care, community health centres, and public health to food industry and private practice settings, our students experience a wide range of dietetic practicum placements.
Comprehensive Dietetic Training: Over a span of 40 weeks, students will complete placements in nutrition care, food provision, population health promotion and research. Students usually complete 6-8 unique placements, ensuring a well-rounded experience.
Tailored Experience: Each student will have a unique placement schedule that considers the student’s interests and career goals.
Mandatory Education Sessions: Monthly education sessions are provided to enhance your learning, prepare you for placements and entry level dietetic practice.
Canadian Dietetic Registration Exam (CDRE): Successful completion of our practicum-based programs (MScFN and DDEPT) is a key eligibility requirement to register for the CDRE.
Your Practicum Schedule: Each student will be assigned to a Dietetic Education Coordinator (DEC), who will coordinate your practicum schedule. Your personalized schedule will be designed to:
Access to reliable transportation is essential. Students can expect to travel to different communities and regions to complete some placements.
Each student completes 40 practicum weeks, which includes:
| MScFN | DDEPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrition Care: Possible settings include hospitals, long-term care, primary care, and diabetes. | 16 weeks minimum | 16 weeks minimum |
| Food Provision: Possible settings include food service departments in hospitals, long-term care, and others. | 6 weeks minimum | 6 weeks minimum |
| Population Health Promotion: Possible settings include public health, community health centres, government, non-profit organizations and private practice. | 6 weeks minimum | 6 weeks minimum |
| Research: Supervised by Brescia faculty. | 8-10 weeks | Not Applicable |
| Practice-Based Project: Supervised by preceptors in the field or Brescia faculty. | Not Applicable | 4 weeks minimum |
| Flex Weeks: Can be applied to areas of interest. | 8 weeks maximum | 8 weeks maximum |
When you apply to a practicum-based program at Brescia, you will get to rank your top 3 placement regions in Ontario. A placement region will be your home base for the duration of your practicum.
DDEPT: You will be offered a region at the time of admission.
MScFN: You will be offered a region during your first year of the MScFN program.
This region offers experiences at a large teaching hospital (Kingston Health Sciences Centre) and/or small community hospitals, family health teams, public health, long-term care and retail sector.
This region offers experiences in teaching and community hospitals, community health centres, family health teams, non-profit organizations and food industry; organizations in Oshawa, Scarborough, Markham, North York, Newmarket, Etobicoke, Mississauga and more.
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is a large teaching care centre with dietetic placements available across all competency areas and with the option for a focused adult or pediatric experience. Placements in the region include family health teams, community health centres, and public health. This region has a nutrition care focus, and all flex weeks will be used for additional nutrition care weeks.
See https://www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/ for details about the health services offered at HHS.
To learn more about Dietetic Practicum at HHS, click here (navigate to "Students and Learners at the top page, then scroll down to "Dietetic
Internship Program" from the drop down menu).
This region includes experiences in Huron-Perth, including rural communities. This region offers experiences in community hospitals, family health teams, long-term care, and community health centres.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is a teaching care centre in London, Ontario. The LHSC Dietetic Practicum offers intensive training focusing on acute care nutrition. Students will complete four nutrition care rotations at LHSC, encompassing in-patient and outpatient settings. An additional diabetes placement is completed outside of LHSC. Students will also complete one food provision and one population health placement. This region has a nutrition care focus, and all flex weeks will be used for additional nutrition care weeks.
This practicum does not allow additional nutrition care placements outside LHSC (e.g., primary or long-term care).
See Dietetic Training at LHSC for details about practicum opportunities.
The London Region Dietetic Practicum emphasizes diverse exposure to various nutritional settings. Students will predominantly complete their placements within London or its surrounding regions. Students should anticipate commuting outside of London for select placements. Compared to the London Health Sciences Centre region, the London region offers greater flexibility, especially for students wanting more focus on areas such as:
Students in the London region will not complete rotations at LHSC.
This region offers experiences in community hospitals (Niagara Falls, Welland or St Catherines), community health centres, family health teams and the retail sector.
This region has a collaborative group of dietitians who support 2 students each year, based in Owen Sound. A drivers license, access to a car and comfort with highway/winter driving are important considerations as travel between communities is required to get to placements.
Students in this region may be based in either community or complete placements in both Sarnia/Chatham.
Windsor Regional Hospital is a large, 2-site teaching hospital that hosts students interested in a clinical-focused experience. Other placement opportunities include another community hospital, long-term care, public health, primary care, private practice and non-profit organizations.
Applicants may identify other regions and/or potential placement organizations in Ontario. Placement opportunities will be explored with a student’s assigned Dietetic Education Coordinator.
Success in the program requires proactive engagement. This includes following the Brescia and placement organization’s policies, attending mandatory education and orientation sessions, and completing documentation for each placement.
To satisfy the requirements mandated by our placement partners, students will need to meet several health and non-health requirements, including:
Students in this program must have access to reliable transportation to get to placements, including places where public transit may not be available. Students will be expected to manage their own travel arrangements to placement sites at their own cost once the practicum starts and be able to travel unattended throughout the practicum. This is something which applicants to our dietetic practicum-based programs should prepare for in advance.