StFX University Integrated Dietetic Internship (IDI) Program

08/27/2026

Here’s a glance at some tasks I get up to in a day as a dietetic intern completing my nutrition care placement at Aberdeen Hospital! Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to learn how nutrition support can be beneficial for patients, supporting them throughout their hospital stay, and upon discharge from the hospital.
On the daily, my tasks often included completing nutrition assessments and follow ups for various patients consulted to the dietetics team. Throughout the process, some other daily tasks included attending multidisciplinary team rounds, nutrition education, malnutrition screening, along with initiating and adjusting parenteral and enteral nutrition plans for patients.

Not included in the photos, however another task I would often get up to in the hospital is work with the dysphagia team! This involved teaming up with the lovely speech language pathologists at the Aberdeen Hospital to conduct bedside swallowing assessments and modified barium swallowing assessments to determine the most appropriate method of nutrition, hydration, and medication for a patient to meet their adequate needs!

This was an incredibly enjoyable and insightful placement. I look forward to applying everything I’ve learned as I continue to move towards my dietetics career!

08/24/2026

Hi! I’m Ceilidh, a dietetic intern completing my nutrition care placement at Cape Breton Healthcare Complex + surrounding sites. Every day of this placement looks very different because I spend each week either on a different unit of Cape Breton Regional or a nearby site, this means I have seen everything from critical care to the cancer centre to outpatients in an office and lots of others in between! This is a glimpse into a day in my life this week in the ICU! The best parts of this placement are the vast variety of experiences and having the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful, dynamic team! My daily tasks often include attending rounds, completing consults, conducting malnutrition screenings, participating in swallow assessments, and so much more depending on what the day brings! This is such a wonderful placement that I have been so lucky to complete!

08/19/2026

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our Department of Human Nutrition faculty member, Dr Tracy Everitt. Please join us for a celebration of life ceremony this Friday, August 21st at 10m in the StFX Art Gallery.

It is with great sadness that we announce that Tracy Everitt passed away on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 in Halifax at the Victoria Hospital after a brave battle with cancer. Tracy was born March 31, 1973, in Regina, Saskatchewan and grew up in the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan area. Tracy lived briefly in Sa...

08/17/2026

Working with Aramark at Dalhousie Food Services, no day is the same! Activities day-to-day range from things like food safety audits to organizing scavenger hunts to reviewing dining hall menus. These and many other activities have given me the opportunity to promote inclusivity in food offerings, advocate for positive change, and promote food safety.

I have learned so much and developed my skills in management, leadership, and communication while navigating this dynamic environment. It has been so exciting to explore food provision in a higher education setting, but my favourite part has been working with and getting to know the team at Dalhousie Food Services!

08/14/2026

A day in the life of a Population Health Promotion Dietetic Intern at the Antigonish Farmers Market!

Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to support local food, connect with amazing vendors, and promote healthy eating through community projects. From farm visits, market operations, and nutrition education to planning our Market Meal, running the Kids' Table, and managing volunteers, every day has been different!

One of my favourite parts has been working with the incredible vendors! They're so welcoming, passionate, and truly make the market feel like a community. This placement has made me appreciate local food even more, and I'm so grateful to have been part of it!

08/13/2026

This spring/summer, I spent eight weeks completing my Nutrition Care placement, followed by seven weeks in Food Provision at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital.

During Nutrition Care, I gained experience in medical and surgical care, geriatrics, dysphagia, critical care, enteral and parenteral nutrition, dialysis, and the emergency department. I completed nutrition assessments and care plans, participated in interdisciplinary rounds, and became more confident and independent in supporting patient care.

My Food Provision placement has shown me lots of things that happen behind the scenes to provide safe and nutritious meals to patients. My experiences have included food budgeting, food safety and patient identification audits, patient satisfaction surveys, staff interviews, scheduling, menu changes, quality improvement projects, and helping with daily foodservice operations. I have also had the opportunity to visit several rural healthcare sites and learn how each location operates differently.

Together, these experiences have shown me how closely nutrition care and food provision are connected!

08/12/2026

One of my favorite parts of my public health placement has been seeing how nutrition education comes to life in the community.

This day started with preparing participant packages filled with recipes, educational resources, and evaluation forms before heading to a community cooking class at the Food Bank. Together, we cooked a simple and affordable meal while building practical food skills, confidence in the kitchen, and meaningful conversations around healthy eating.

Public health nutrition is so much more than teaching about food, it's about collaborating with community partners, creating accessible resources, adapting education to meet people's needs, and empowering individuals with skills they can use at home!

Over the past few months, I've also had the opportunity to develop and deliver nutrition education for healthcare professionals, complete a community needs assessment, write an advocacy letter addressing child poverty, attend baby support groups and prenatal classes, collaborate with community organizations, and contribute to a variety of public health initiatives. Every project has given me a new perspective on the many ways dietitians can support the health of individuals, families, and communities.

I'm so grateful for everything I've learned and for the opportunity to give back to the community that I grew up in! ❤ —Aumrey McFarlane

08/11/2026

A day is never mundane! From preparing meals and snacks for campers and staff or delivering snacks on the golf cart, a huge part of this placement is feeding the people who make magic moments every day at camp. Behind the scenes, standardizing recipes, planning menus, advocating for camper needs, and communicating nutrition information are some of my favourite parts of my role here at camp! On camper intake days I am lucky enough to sit down with many campers and their families to answer questions or take a deeper dive into information listed on camp registration forms. Each day brings a new learning experience, and it is inspiring to see a team of just a few accomplish so much with a common goal. Daily interactions with such an amazing team have surely made this placement one to remember!

08/10/2026

This is what a typical day at the Antigonish Community Food Bank looks like! My days vary depending on whether I'm working from the university or on-site at the food bank, and these photos offer a glimpse into my placement.

This experience has helped me connect what I have learned over the past academic years with real-world practice while supporting this wonderful community. I have learned something new every day, not only about nutrition and population health, but also about myself and the kind of professional I want to become.

I had the chance to work on multiple different projects, such as introducing halal-friendly boxes, conducting nutrition education workshops, developing recipe cards with samples, and organizing nutrition-related activities for high school SHAD students for HNU outreach.

I am very excited for my last few weeks, and I will for sure miss all the wonderful people that I have met during this placement! 💙

08/07/2026

Hey everyone! My name is Leah, and I’m currently completing my Food Provision Management placement at Horizon Achievement Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Horizon supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and people with varying abilities through inclusive programs, employment opportunities and community services.

During my placement, I’ve been involved with the Steel Grounds Café, catering services and the School Food Program. I’ve delivered a healthy eating presentation, created accessible client resources, developed and costed menu development recipes, ordered food for the School Food Program, completed a school food allergen audit, and created food safety presentations, handouts and posters.

I’m also adapting Second Harvest’s food waste audit tools for a pre-consumer food waste research project. Next, I’ll be collecting audit data, presenting my food safety session and helping prepare a client-selected dessert for an upcoming theme meal.

It’s been a busy placement, and I’ve learned so much about food safety, menu development, research and inclusive foodservice! 💕