Top Clin Nutr Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 176–181 c  2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. DIETETICS EDUCATION Individualized Research Experiences in a Dietetic Internship Program Alison Steiber, PhD, RD, LD; Hope Barkoukis, PhD, RD, LD As dietitians strive to remain a critical component of the integrative healthcare system, evidence- based practice must be driven by scientifically and methodologically sound research. Optimally, dietitians should be equitable investigators in all facets of the research process; however, currently our education system does not support this type of participation. The purpose of this program is to pair graduate dietetic students with experienced researchers, providing the opportunity for research from protocol origination to data presentation. This was accomplished by identifying re- searchers and clinicians who would participate as preceptors. Preceptors provided research areas prior to the first semester each year. Within the first semester, the graduate intern students com- pleted an original protocol and Institutional Review Board application. Concomitantly, students were guided through the protocol by didactic work in a required course. The second semester, 5 hours weekly, was dedicated to data collection and analysis, cumulating in an oral presentation. Future goals include research manuscripts and data on practice impact. Key words: dietetics/ research, education of dietetic interns T HE current health milieu has required an expansion of knowledge and clinical skills necessary for dietetics practice. As dieti- tians strive to remain a critical component of the integrative healthcare system, evidence- based practice must be driven by scientifically and methodologically sound research. Opti- mally, dietitians should be equitable investiga- tors in all facets of the research process. The Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education standards necessitate that dietetic internship programs provide foun- dation knowledge in the following areas: From the Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Corresponding author: Alison Steiber, PhD, RD, LD, De- partment of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Case West- ern Reserve University, WG-34, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleve- land, OH 44106 (e-mail: Alison.steiber@case.edu). Reprints: Hope Barkoukis, PhD, RD, LD, Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, WG-34, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 (e-mail: hope.barkoukis@case.edu). (1) communication, (2) physical and biolog- ical sciences, (3) social sciences, (4) food, (5) management, (6) healthcare systems, and (7) research. The research component dictates that interns/graduates will have knowledge of research methodologies, needs assessments, outcomes-based research, scientific method, and quality improvement methods as well as the demonstrated ability to interpret current research and statistics. 1 However, a relevant question is whether or not “knowledge”trans- lates into acquiring the confidence and skills needed to incorporate research into nutrition practice. Studies presented to date have indi- cated that students and current practitioners identify lack of research skills as a significant barrier to conducting research. 2–5 Reports in the literature have highlighted the most common barriers perceived by prac- ticing dietitians to be, in rank order, lack of research time, skills, knowledge of funding sources, financial resources, administrative support, practice guidelines, and interest. 3,5 Results show that clinical dietitians are not 176