"When I was applying for internships, I wanted to be adventurous, so I planned on applying to exotic places. I worked at the Detroit Medical Center throughout college as 'summer help.' The dietetic department director asked me why I was considering applying all over the map. I had no solid answer. What he said made a lot of sense. He knew that I was close to my family and had a lot of connections in Michigan. He said, “If you go away for your internship and then come back, who is going to know you? An internship is an internship is an internship. Get it done in Michigan, and therefore you will keep your current connections while making new ones.
I took his advice, only applied to DMC and got accepted. Was it the crème de la crème internship? Not exactly. The DMC was not and still is not known for forging the way in medical research, although interesting nutrition research has emerged from Wayne State University—the DMC affiliate. My internship did offer exposure to cases that an intern may not see in a suburban plush hospital. As for the staff dietitians, I felt very few did much to better themselves or the profession. The highlight of our education was learning about obsolete diets that we will (hopefully) never use. Was it great for networking? Absolutely! I made connections that I still have today, which have benefited my career.
Thankfully, one of my favorite floor dietitians—very progressive—finally took over as internship director and the program became filled with new and exciting learning opportunities. This particular director invited me back to speak each year. She too has now retired, but left a positive impact on the program.
So, I guess what I am trying to say here is aside from looking at a program for what it has to offer academically and experientially, look at where you would like to be long term while looking beyond the theoretical and exotic location. Think about the networking piece of the puzzle as well."
