Dorothy W. Hagan photograph collection

Dorothy W. Hagan, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., earned her Ph.D. in human nutrition from Michigan State University and her M.S.in nutritional science from the University of Michigan. She served as director of dietetics at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, located within the Detroit Medical Center Complex, and as an instructor for Wayne State and Eastern Michigan Universities. She was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of both the Dietetic Internship and Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition Programs at Oregon Health & Science University.

Dr. Hagan was an active member of the American Dietetic Association and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. She served as a site visitor for the ADA, and member/chair of the ADA Scholarship Committee. Past appointed activities include chair of the Oregon Board of Examiners for Licensed Dietitians and panel member for the National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference. Past elected positions include Chair of the ADA Pediatric Practice Group, various offices within the Oregon Dietetic Association, and President of the Ann Arbor District Dietetic Association.

Dr. Hagan retired from OHSU in December 29, 2006.

OHSU Dietetics Internship Program

Dietitians were among the first health professionals 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 the 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 the 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, students attended the program 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 1940’s and '50’s, Pauline Fisher was Head Dietitian at Multnomah County Hospital, also serving as the Internship Director. She was notable for her sanitation inspections of the kitchen. The program had ten student interns who would do six week rotations at MCH between the main kitchen, diet kitchen, cafeteria, and therapeutic office. They would then rotate to the Outpatient Clinic, Doernbecher, the State Tuberculosis Hospital, Emanuel Hospital, and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Students received room and board, laundry, and $15.00 each month.

During the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, 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 twelve months. Rotations would last from 6 to 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 1970’s. Later, these became known as team rounds. The students were responsible for clinical activities and decisions from 3:30-6:30, Thursday through Sunday, to gain experience in supervising diet changes, diet aides, and food service personnel; answering patient requests; responding to physicians’ questions; and making late night tube feedings.

Students were still provided room and board, laundry, and an increased stipend of $200.00 a month until the university underwent financial crisis. First, 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 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift consisted of making sandwiches, salads and desserts for the doctors and nurses on duty. By 1962 the shift changed from 4:00 p.m. to midnight, much to the interns' relief.

Community service included nutrition counseling to pregnant women, home visits with the Public Health nurse, and even assisting in TB checks in 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 more 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 interns 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 Master of Science Degree in Clinical Nutrition at the Oregon Health Sciences University, financial support from both institutions, and the strength 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 Programs at OHSU began offering three tracks for graduate study. One track is the Dietetic Internship Certificate Program. This track is 10 months long 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 Degree in Clinical Nutrition and is called the Coordinated Masters Program.