Oregon Dietetics Internship Program collection

Dietitians were one of the earliest health professions trained at the University of Oregon Medical School located on Marquam Hill in Portland, Oregon. The student dietitian training program began in 1930-31. Under the auspices of the Oregon Dietetic Association, the program was sponsored by Portland area hospitals, including Multnomah County Hospital and Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children.

The Oregon Dietetic Association was founded by Portland Dietitians as a branch of the American Dietetic Association in 1929. Among the first orders of business was establishment of a student dietitian training program in Portland. Multnomah County Hospital (Katherine De Witt), Good Samaritan Hospital (Elizabeth Steward), Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children (Emma Clausen), and St. Vincent Hospital (Mable Williams) provided training. The association fostered and nourished the student training program until 1940 when two student dietitian training programs were formed in Portland: the University of Oregon Medical School Hospitals and Clinics Dietetic Internship Program aligned with Multnomah County Hospital and the Good Samaritan Dietetic Internship Program. Good Samaritan Hospital graduated dietitians until 1950.

Program accreditation was sought early and achieved in 1932. Attempts were made by Oregon Dietitians to gain University of Oregon Medical School sponsorship of the student dietitian course as early as 1934. The difficulty in arranging class work for so small a number precluded this from happening.

Initially, the program was two months. To meet the American Dietetic Association requirements it was increased to six months, within its first two years. By 1933 the program was held for six months at one of Portland’s four hospitals.

The first student to graduate from the program was Dorothy James Keane from Washington State College in Pullman, Washington. She later held the Professional Education Chairman’s position. After graduation she worked at Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children as preceptor.

In the 1940s and 50s, Pauline Fisher was Head Dietitian at Multnomah County Hospital, also serving as the Internship Director. It seems she was notable for her sanitation inspections of the kitchen. The program had 10 students. The interns would do six week rotations at MCH between the main kitchen, the diet kitchen, the cafeteria and therapeutic office. They would then rotate to the Out Patient Clinic, Doernbecher, the State Tuberculosis Hospital, Emanuel Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Students received room and board, laundry and $15.00 each month.

During the 1960s and 70s, Ruth Mercer was both Internship Director and chief of the Dietetics Department. 100 to 130 applications were received each year from across the country. By this time the program ran for 12 months. Rotations would last from 6 – 8 weeks with clinical and administrative duties intermixed. “Pantry Maids” set up the food trays on the wards, and “Diet Aids” made diet changes and placed the meal cards on the patient trays. Patient teaching rounds with the doctors were initiated in the 1970s. Later these became known as team rounds. They were responsible for clinical activities and decisions from 3:30-6:30 PM, Thursday through Sunday, to gain experience in supervising diet changes, diet aides, food service personnel, answering patient requests, responding to physician’s questions and making late tube feedings.

Students were still provided room and board, laundry and an increased stipend of $200.00 a month until the university underwent financial crises. The stipend was cancelled, and room and board was cancelled shortly thereafter. Interns were housed at Emma Jones Hall and Katherine Hall.

Uniforms were starched, white and worn with white shoes, hose and hairnets. White pant suits were introduced in 1969. In 1975 the interns were allowed to wear clear hose. Shortly thereafter, street clothes became acceptable; however, the white uniforms were encouraged.

Interns spent time with the butcher, baker, and cooks to learn each job. Food purchasing was done daily, calling vendors to find the best prices. Students supervised dinner and managed food distribution to the cafeteria and to the wards. If there were icy road conditions, the interns would start breakfast. They also wrote weekly menus and presented and prepared new recipes. Menu conferences and staff meetings were held weekly and attended by both clinical and administrative staff.

An unpopular task was the “nite supper.” This 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM shift consisted of making sandwiches, salads and desserts for the doctors and nurses on duty. By 1962, to the interns great relief, the shift was moved to 4:00 PM – midnight.

Community service included nutrition counseling to pregnant women, home visits with the Public Health Nurse, and even assisting in TB checks at pool parlors and flop houses. They made presentations for meetings, classes, weight control groups, homemaker organizations, 4-H clubs, grade schools, spas, and health and fitness classes. The students would take field trips to visit hospitals in rural areas. They also participated in the Oregon Dietetic Association’s sponsored “Dial-a-Dietician” program.

Students viewed autopsies to learn anatomy. A weekly luncheon with a physician was scheduled to provide an opportunity for the intern to become more familiar with the medical team and also to ask direct questions of the doctor. They also provided food and decorations for hospital holiday celebrations.

In 1986 the American Dietetic Association approved a combined dietetic internship program with the University and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The internship would provide the “stepping stone” for a Masters of Science in Clinical Nutrition at the Oregon Health Sciences University, financial support from both institutions, and the strengths of both facilities to enhance dietetic training.

Although known as the OHSU/VAMC Dietetic Internship Program from 1986-2002, today the program is known as the OHSU Dietetic Program and is under the umbrella of OHSU Dietetics and Nutrition Programs.

The program is the oldest on the West Coast and has graduated some 725 dietitians in its 75 year history. The program remains the primary supplier of Registered Dietitians for Oregon and the Northwest.

In 2006, the Dietetics and Nutrition Program at OHSU offers three tracks for graduate study. One track is the Dietetic Internship Certificate Program. This track is 10 months in length and results in a verification statement and eligibility to take the National Commission on Registration Examination and become a Registered Dietitian. A second program is the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition. This program is offered to Registered Dietitians and/or incoming dietetic interns who qualify for graduate school admission and are interested in research and a graduate degree. The third track combines the Dietetic Internship with the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition and is called the Coordinated Masters Program.

The collection contains photographs and other materials that pertain specifically to two graduating classes: The classes of 1955-56 and 1965-66. The seven graduates, class of 1955-56, of the Oregon Dietetic Internship Program, featured in the scrapbook created by Kathleen Sharp, are Alice Buchanen, Marysville College, Tennessee; Helen Hecht, University of Nebraska; Norma Robinson, Iowa State University; Marilyn Rae, Brigham Young University; Carol Sampson, University of Utah; Kathleen Sharp, University of British Columbia; and Mary Davis Watson, Montana State University.

The class of 1965-1966 is made up of Marilyn Marie Baird, Ohio State University; Suzanne Patricia Bierma, San Diego State College; Linda Kay Brooke, University of Minnesota; Lusha Claudine Congdon, Montana State College; Sylvia Jeanne Haisch, South Dakota State University; Pansy Helms, University of Alabama; Mary Kathryn Kahn, Hood College; Nenita F. Salvador Perles, Philippine Women’s University; Martha Gail Shuler, San Jose State College; and Karen Elizabeth VanHoose, San Diego State College.