Residency & Internship Programs
Externship vs. Internship (description)
The purpose of both an externship and internship is to provide exposure to client-based aspects of the holistic nutrition industry, resume-building experience, and career networking opportunities. However, there are differences in both scope and duration of these experiences.
Externship |
Internship |
|
| Get an overview | Gain skills and experience | |
| Observational training | Hands-on work | |
| Shadow an individual or team | Work alongside an individual or team | |
| Short-term (days, a week) | Longer-term (weeks, months) | |
| Usually unpaid | Paid or unpaid |
General guidelines
- An externship will not exceed forty (40) hours in total duration
- An internship may be of any duration, consisting of minimally two (2) weeks
- No more than 20% of the tasks can be clerical. These include filing, answering phones, marketing, social media, managing inventory, scheduling appointments, welcoming patients/clients, responding to email, etc.
- 80% or more should be substantial engagement in primary industry functions (see list below)
- Externships/internships are valid from the start date of a qualifying nutrition education program
Primary Industry Functions Checklist
General Menu of Services: |
Therapeutic Menu of Services: |
| Diet and lifestyle evaluation | Intake |
| Teach healthy eating | Advise therapeutic menu and nutrients |
| Shopping tours | Research |
| Family meal planning | Provide follow-up support |
| Suggestions for improving lifestyle | Review lab assessments |
| Supporting a healthy stress response | Summarize case and group findings |
| Meal plans for improved weight, mood, and energy | Provide recommendations |
| Teach classes on wellness and holistic nutrition | Teach health professionals and consumers |
| Advise clients on basic wellness supplementation | Consult with practitioner |
Internship Programs
Below are pre-approved internship programs for nutrition professionals seeking interactive virtual mentoring that qualify as Contact Hours for the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board Exam Application.
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Holistic Nutrition Mentorship Program
40 Continuing Education Credits
Building a career is hard and you don’t have to do it alone.
Join a community of high level professionals and nutrition graduates that support each other’s career growth.
Our program is designed to help you remove the obstacles that are standing in the way of turning your education and passion into a career. We provide certification support, business coaching, and a professional network that can be leveraged for support and guidance.
Flexible membership options and pricing available
Certification Support
- Opportunities to earn the required 500 professional experience
- contact hours
- BCHN® exam prep
- Comprehensive study guides with key terms and definitions
- Over 1000 practice questions included in over 20 practice exams
Development and Growth of Your Business
- Weekly business development office hours
- Self-paced business courses
- Personalized business mentorship
- Holistic Nutrition Career Directory
Growth as a Clinician
- Over a dozen educational courses in functional and holistic nutrition (See Listing)
- Weekly nutritional grand rounds with other nutrition professionals across the country
- Weekly case study office hours
- Small group case study workshops
- Experience working with clients
- Regular feedback from supervisors
- Guest webinars from experts in the field of functional and holistic nutrition
- Earn continuing education hours
- Access to a community of holistic nutrition professionals
Click here to learn more.
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Foundations in Practice – Mentoring Program
Foundations in Practice is a live 5-week program to help practitioners strengthen their confidence in key areas for practice-building.
Learning Objectives: Strengthen time management, address mindset obstacles, and build a referral network.
Duration: 5 Weeks = 10 Hours / 10 Continuing Education Credits
- Week 1: Manage Your Time
- Week 2: Manage Your Money
- Week 3: Manage Your Mindset
- Week4: Manage Your Network
If your biggest dream is to help people restore their health, but you are still wondering if you know enough and struggle with how to manage it all, keep reading! It’s overwhelming to find yourself swept up in all the courses, training, and summits, only to feel even more aware of what you still don’t know. It’s like a chronic state of professional defeat—a place where you’re just as terrified of success as you are of failure.
When you sign up for this mentoring program, you’ll receive an actionable tool kit and real support to help propel your success.
Click here to learn more.
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Advanced Herbal and Nutritional Skills Course: 6-Month Program
The Advanced Professional Herbal & Nutritional Skills Course Online offers you a chance to gain experience working with real clients under the direct supervision of experienced herbal and nutritional therapy practitioners. The faculty of K.P. Khalsa’s International Integrative Educational Institute brings together highly trained professional herbalists, naturopathic physicians, and TCM practitioners so that you obtain your clinical/internship hours from instructors with real-world clinical experience.
Duration: 6 weekends Saturday & Sunday
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Success Academy for Nutrition Professionals
This program has been approved for a total of 30.0 (Thirty) NANP CECs on a one (1) contact hour to one (1) continuing education credit equivalency.
Duration & Total Hours: 30 hours
6-month program – Monthly Modules and Live/Virtual Platform (offered twice a year)
Monthly modules offer live (and recorded) training – the virtual classroom platform (Ruzuku) includes three live training sessions per month.
Signing Bonuses – One-on-one Jump Start Call to map out individuals’ path forward; Online forms with specific questions related to the content of the calls that include space to submit action steps that were taken.
• Business building
• Client Support
• Implementation labs
• Application worksheets and handouts
• Client support training
• Private Facebook group encouraging interaction
• Guest Speakers related to the topics
• Midway self-assessment –
• Practitioner Spotlight Success Interview – recorded interview of your services
• ALSO AVAILABLE: Board Certification Study & Internship Groups- Additional Clinical Oversight Specific to Contact Hours
Covering systems of Practice Management Business & Clinical Mentorship. Support the nutrition professional in building a strong foundation for building business skills and implementing Clinical Support through Skills Implementation & Client Case Management Support, food, nutrition & lifestyle support.
Participants learn how to address clients’ conditions with Individualized support with Advanced Nutrition Concepts that include Food & Lifestyle Support, Understanding lab reports, working with Allopathic Partners, and the importance of Collaboration.
Click here for more information.
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Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner (FNLP) Certification Program
30 Continuing Education Credits
This 3-month online program in functional nutrition is the only one of its kind–offering direct mentorship from acclaimed functional medicine nutritionist Andrea Nakayama and certifying you as a Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner (FNLP).
The curriculum includes weekly teaching sessions, direct mentorship from Andrea on clinical skills, functional nutrition systems, and any questions that are coming up in your personal practice. Students will learn how to navigate complex cases by utilizing the functional nutrition tools and systems developed by Andrea and used by her nutrition team at the Functional Nutrition Alliance (FxNA).
Through written assignments, collaboration with a partner, and a live case study review with Andrea, students will gain proficiency in all 8 pillars of the Functional Nutrition Mastery Paradigm. Graduates emerge both skilled and confident in assessing client intakes, navigating the terrain of both complex physical symptoms and the delicate client-practitioner relationship, and determining treatment plans for client cases in clinical practice. Students will also learn how to work in partnership with other practitioners, including physicians, and communicate their ideas and insights more effectively so that they can create the change they are most passionate about.
FNLP is an application-only program open to select graduates of the Holistic Nutrition Lab: Full Body Systems.
~Christine Shin
- Winter (January, February, March)
Click here for more information.
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Hill College Internship Program
Holistic Clinicals I (Course 2289)
- Duration: 16 weeks, 10-15 hours per week.
- Focus: Wellness coaching, mental and emotional wellness, scientific literacy, and business skills for holistic clinics.
- Key Activities: Internship-type experience, introduction to herbal medicine, leading at least 6 coaching sessions.
Holistic Clinicals II (Course 2389)
- Duration: 16 weeks, 10-15 hours per week.
- Focus: Client intakes, protocol creation, functional blood chemistry analysis, advanced herbal formula creation.
- Key Activities: Supervised clinical sessions in a free clinic, access to practitioner-grade supplement dispensaries.
To earn a total of 500 indirect and direct hours, students must complete both Holistic Clinicals I (Course 2289) and Holistic Clinicals II (Course 2389). Each course spans one semester, approximately 16 weeks, with an expected commitment of 10-15 hours per week.
Apply to: Lori Rose at lrose@hillcollege.edu.
Residency Program
Nutrition, Functional Medicine, and Integrative Medicine Residency Program at Healthy Weighs Wellness Center in Brookfield, Connecticut
This is a competitive three to twelve-month Functional Medicine and Integrative Medicine Residency program designed for master or doctoral level nutritionists, chiropractors, and physicians who need to gain experience and supervised practice hours for BCHN® (Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®), CNS (Certified Nutrition Specialist) certification, and CD-N (Certified Dietitian-Nutrition) certification, supervised practice hours or general practice experience. This program will be individually tailored to meet the needs of the practitioner as well as the guidelines of the specific certification program being pursued. This program is designed to be onsite but online is an option.
Now accepting applications for Winter and Spring Sessions.
Click here for pricing and more information.
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