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When I entered the program
I had no idea what a dietician does.
5 years later I am still learning
what a dietician does.
This is the program
where you are going to get that personalized experience.
You’re going to get a practicum
that’s tailored to you
and you’re also going to get that coursework
that’s going to give you the background.
It’s just a unique program
that fit with my goals
for what I wanted in terms of my work placements.
It really allows you
the opportunity to specialize
in an area of nutrition
but then also get your masters
and also become a dietician which is really great
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The goal of our credited
Option 1 Practicum
of the MHSC Program
is to really prepare students
for dietetic practice.
Our curriculum is really geared
to meet dietician’s needs.
Students become adept at
understanding and interpreting
scientific evidence
which is the foundation
of practice based decision making in dietetics.
Our courses give students
opportunities to understand
and apply adult education theory,
principals of universal design
for education, flexible learning
and communication strategies
that really meet
a wide range of audience needs
including people living with disabilities.
I think the masters
really steps up your game
in terms of your confidence level.
A lot of our coursework really prepared us
for the work placement
because it was so self-directed
I came in having done my bachelors degree
and not really feeling
like I could go out into the real world
and be a dietician
and the coursework,
those two semesters
really set the foundation,
gave me a lot of the skills and knowledge
that I was then able
to apply in the practicum.
Like how to do a
systematic literature review,
how to write for a specific audience,
knowledge translation,
strategies of health behaviour,
all of these things
that I really took
with me into my practicum.
The MHSC students engage
in an 8 month practicum
following their two semesters of coursework.
So the practicum has a variety
of different placements
where students meet the
integrated competencies
for dietetic education and practice.
It’s like working a 9-5 job
so they go and work the hours of their preceptors.
They do the tasks of their preceptors
would be engaging in
and they really work alongside dieticians
and other allied health professionals
to engage in the work
that dieticians do.
You have some really unique work
opportunities that could be your calling
One of my preceptors
was talking to me
she said sorry I keep forgetting
that you’re a student,
I keep thinking that you’re a colleague
and I kind of sat there
and I thought I feel like I work here too
and it was really great to have that
feeling of I can actually do this job.
So, when choosing a practicum
students are required to complete certain placements
in area of nutrition care
population health and management.
However, the diversity is really vast
so if students want to engage
in more hospital based practicum then they can,
if they prefer to work more
in the community or in industry
we also look at these factors
in order to make sure
that their placement areas
that they prefer.
I couldn’t have gotten the experience that
I was looking for at a hospital internship program
because I knew specifically
that I wanted to be working in the community
for most of my time.
So Ryerson really offered that to me
There was a lot more flexibility
in terms of me potentially
being able to direct where my work placements were.
How long I could be where.
It’s really great
when you know what you want to do,
but also if you don’t know what you want to do
at the end because you can experiment with different things
Megan was able to take our preferences,
our desires, what we wanted to learn,
what we were interested in,
and what we needed to learn
and put all of those together
so everyone had this really unique experience.
Part of my job
is getting to know the students
and what their personalities
are like and then matching them
with preceptors
where I know they’ll have a great experience.
Megan was my friend,
my therapist
my everything during the practicum
She really takes the time to get to know you.
I’ve emailed her
and she always responds
she’s willing to set up a phone call
or do whatever you need
to really make you feel like
you’re moving forward
and you’re going to be successful in the program
If you’re struggling
or you’re having emotional challenges
with your course work
or with your internship
she’ll really guide you
through that process to make it easier on you.
There is a lot of flexibility
in where students are placed,
and also we focus on
students’ preferences
and their ability to travel.
So, if students prefer
to engage in placements
closer to their home,
where they’ll likely be working
when they finish the program,
I look for opportunities
where they can save
a little bit of money
and create networking connections
You get so many opportunities
to go from workplace to workplace
and meet so many people
that there is absolutely the chance
of networking and having job opportunities
when you're done which is really amazing.
Well, in this day and age,
getting a job all if it is networking
Someone like me
who didn’t know where to start,
who do I talk to,
these work great opportunities
to actually meet other dieticians
and to be able to connect with them
Networking in dietetics
is very important.
At Ryerson you start to accumulate
that network by working
with your fellow students
We really talk about
how to network with each other
and how to maintain
that great circle of friends
that you developed over the course of the program
I was lucky to get employment
very early and I would send jobs to
we had a group on Facebook
so definitely that was
our first network
we kind of all shared things
with each other even after we graduated.
Having such a close group of students
is actually one of the highlights
of the program for me.
As we move on I think we’re
all going to keep in touch
and keep supporting each other.
I’m really passionate about my job.
I love watching the transition
that students go through
throughout the 16 months of the program.
And it’s really rewarding
when at the end of the day
20 students graduate
and become dieticians
and really join a field that I am so proud of.
(applause)
It means so much to me to be
graduating and everyone
was really emotional today
It’s just like a weight
is lifted off of my shoulders
and now I’m ready to take my schooling
in whatever direction I want
because I feel like I’m ready.
I would recommend the
Ryerson Nutrition Communication graduate program
because it offered me a sense of community,
the skillsets that I needed
in the area that I wanted to work in.
And to me, the most important thing
was that they really valued us
as individuals, with our
individual career pathways.
I always recommend the program
I would say 100% you’re going to get a unique experience,
it’s going to be tailored to you,
you’re going to be able to get
that hands on experience
but also have a skillset
that you need
to go out there and do it.
I think it’s wonderful,
it’s really personally changed my life
and I’m really happy with how far I’ve come
since the beginning.
It’s been really, really nice.
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