Neurology week!
Neurology week I saw a lot of patients who had recently had strokes. I mostly saw patients for dysphagia diet educations or heart healthy educations. I also had a few patients who were NPO for an extended period of time (not allow to eat).
During this week I had some follow up patients that the RD's had previously seen. I also saw a lot of patients with new PEG tubes (which meant doing tube feeding nutrition recommendations).
The week was extremely busy for me. After I finished the neurology floor patients, I then helped the RD's see their patients if it was someone who they thought I could handle or a floor I had already been on.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Cancer Rotation
The next week I was on the cancer floor and at the cancer center.
I spent one day with the dietitian who covers the inpatient cancer floor. I shadowed her for a few patients and charted on them. I had one tube feeding and one TPN patient. I had to calculate and figure out the patients needs. It was my first time writing these types of notes by myself and I wanted to impress the RD so I took my time and double checked all my calculations.
One patient we saw, had a tube feeding. This patient had a tracheal tube. It was the first time I had actually seen one, and it was interesting. The patient could only talk if they closed their trach. It sounds like a lot of wind moving around when they breathed.
I spent two days at the cancer center shadowing the RD's there. The first day there I shadowed the RD who saw the chemotherapy patients. I learned a lot from these patients such as what they go through and what eating changes occur. I learned that breast cancer is the only cancer you actually gain weight and cannot eat a lot of sweets. I realized that many chemotherapy drugs have nutrition related side effects such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and/or taste changes. I also learned that 'chemotherapy' is not the same for every patient. I guess I just always thought that chemo was the same iv fluid for every patient.
I will say, that I heard a lot about feces. I never realized that as a future dietitian I would hear and talk so much about feces. It is not something I really learned about in college. Feces can tell a lot about what type of nutrition status a patient is in.
Most of the Chemotherapy patients I saw with the dietitian were new chemo patients or ones that had no appetite or had lost weight during their treatment. Every patient was unique. Every patient we saw received a food safety booklet as the holidays were approaching and food safety is VERY important in those persons with weakened immune systems and weakened bodies.
The next day at the cancer center, I shadowed the dietitian who works with the radiation patients. We didn't get to see very many patients, only those ones with nutrition concern - mostly head, throat, neck cancer patients. These patients are more likely to have taste changes, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. I was able to talk to a couple patients on my own. It's a whole different experience with cancer patients. Its not necessarily ensuring that they are eating well, but that they are eating food and keeping the food down during their treatment time.
I'm not sure this is something I want to work with specifically, but it the opportunity arises, I probably wouldn't turn it down.
I spent one day with the dietitian who covers the inpatient cancer floor. I shadowed her for a few patients and charted on them. I had one tube feeding and one TPN patient. I had to calculate and figure out the patients needs. It was my first time writing these types of notes by myself and I wanted to impress the RD so I took my time and double checked all my calculations.
One patient we saw, had a tube feeding. This patient had a tracheal tube. It was the first time I had actually seen one, and it was interesting. The patient could only talk if they closed their trach. It sounds like a lot of wind moving around when they breathed.
I spent two days at the cancer center shadowing the RD's there. The first day there I shadowed the RD who saw the chemotherapy patients. I learned a lot from these patients such as what they go through and what eating changes occur. I learned that breast cancer is the only cancer you actually gain weight and cannot eat a lot of sweets. I realized that many chemotherapy drugs have nutrition related side effects such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and/or taste changes. I also learned that 'chemotherapy' is not the same for every patient. I guess I just always thought that chemo was the same iv fluid for every patient.
I will say, that I heard a lot about feces. I never realized that as a future dietitian I would hear and talk so much about feces. It is not something I really learned about in college. Feces can tell a lot about what type of nutrition status a patient is in.
Most of the Chemotherapy patients I saw with the dietitian were new chemo patients or ones that had no appetite or had lost weight during their treatment. Every patient was unique. Every patient we saw received a food safety booklet as the holidays were approaching and food safety is VERY important in those persons with weakened immune systems and weakened bodies.
The next day at the cancer center, I shadowed the dietitian who works with the radiation patients. We didn't get to see very many patients, only those ones with nutrition concern - mostly head, throat, neck cancer patients. These patients are more likely to have taste changes, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. I was able to talk to a couple patients on my own. It's a whole different experience with cancer patients. Its not necessarily ensuring that they are eating well, but that they are eating food and keeping the food down during their treatment time.
I'm not sure this is something I want to work with specifically, but it the opportunity arises, I probably wouldn't turn it down.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
CVD, Diabetes, Renal clinical
I have learned the importance of really listening to the other RD's. At TMH I am able to go and see patients by myself and write up my own assessments notes, no risk notes, and follow up notes. However, I have to have an RD sign off on them which means they have to read and correct any problems with my notes.
The first two weeks the RD's took a while to read through the notes because they each write their notes a certain way and therefore like things written a certain way. I spent many extra hours with the dietitians and got their feed back on the notes.
This third week at TMH, I was on the cardiac floor, as well as diabetes and renal floors. I was mostly doing educations on Diabetes Diet and Heart Healthy Diet. I also attended rounds with an RD twice this week.
I really appreciate the RD's taking extra time to explaining things to me or show me things. This week one of the dietitians showed me the TPN bags and told me why the bag is yellow- due to multivitamins- and then she showed me another patients J-tube.
A hard part about this week was going to patients and having them turn the education down. They didn't even want the handouts I brought them. A few patients were interested in what I had to say. a
Clinical isn't everything I thought it was going to be. I didn't know my days where going to be so long, but they time flies at the hospital, I'm always busy and there is always something to do.
The first two weeks the RD's took a while to read through the notes because they each write their notes a certain way and therefore like things written a certain way. I spent many extra hours with the dietitians and got their feed back on the notes.
This third week at TMH, I was on the cardiac floor, as well as diabetes and renal floors. I was mostly doing educations on Diabetes Diet and Heart Healthy Diet. I also attended rounds with an RD twice this week.
I really appreciate the RD's taking extra time to explaining things to me or show me things. This week one of the dietitians showed me the TPN bags and told me why the bag is yellow- due to multivitamins- and then she showed me another patients J-tube.
A hard part about this week was going to patients and having them turn the education down. They didn't even want the handouts I brought them. A few patients were interested in what I had to say. a
Clinical isn't everything I thought it was going to be. I didn't know my days where going to be so long, but they time flies at the hospital, I'm always busy and there is always something to do.
Monday, November 12, 2012
First and Second Week of Clinical!
My acute care clinical rotation was at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH). https://www.tmh.org/AboutUs
The first week was orientation where I read the manuals for dietitian clinical work, I had to learn the computer charting system, I had to become familiar with how to screen for patients, and I had to learn my way around the hospital.
The second week of clinical I worked in the Orthopedic wing of the hospital. I saw mostly geriatric patients. For TMH, any patient over the age of 85 years with a surgery has to be seen by a dietitian. Most of the patients I saw were healthy individuals with a good appetite which resulted in me writing up a short 'no risk' form. If they were not eating well, a supplement was offered, such as, Ensure.
A few of the patients I saw during this week were malnourished. There are many types of malnutrition, including Kwashiorker, Marasmus, other sever protein-calorie malnutrition, moderate malnutrition, mild malnutrition, and other protein-calorie malnutrition. Each malnutrition subgroup has criteria to help define the type of malnutrition.
Starting out, I only saw 3-4 patients a day. It was nice to be able to take my time and write up full assessments and then have the RD's check my notes. The RD's are VERY helpful to me and I cannot thank them enough for all of their help!!! As an intern, it is important to take any and all advice from the dietitians your are working with.
I was very lucky and was able to shadowed a wound-care nurse for an day. IT WAS AWESOME! I thought I would not like seeing wounds but I learned valuable information. One thing I learned was how to tell if a patient has a pressure ulcer or not. Pressure ulcers have to have a bone under it.
I saw a couple wound-vac changes. (http://www.kci1.com/KCI1/vactherapy) Wound Vac's are really neat! I think it's a great idea and they speed up the healing process by 80%!
I feel some what confident in seeing patients. It's amazing how much I've learned in two weeks at the hospital and I wish I had more hospital experience as an undergraduate, I would have understood a lot more of my clinical class and what was expected from me in terms of writing my notes.
The first week was orientation where I read the manuals for dietitian clinical work, I had to learn the computer charting system, I had to become familiar with how to screen for patients, and I had to learn my way around the hospital.
The second week of clinical I worked in the Orthopedic wing of the hospital. I saw mostly geriatric patients. For TMH, any patient over the age of 85 years with a surgery has to be seen by a dietitian. Most of the patients I saw were healthy individuals with a good appetite which resulted in me writing up a short 'no risk' form. If they were not eating well, a supplement was offered, such as, Ensure.
A few of the patients I saw during this week were malnourished. There are many types of malnutrition, including Kwashiorker, Marasmus, other sever protein-calorie malnutrition, moderate malnutrition, mild malnutrition, and other protein-calorie malnutrition. Each malnutrition subgroup has criteria to help define the type of malnutrition.
Starting out, I only saw 3-4 patients a day. It was nice to be able to take my time and write up full assessments and then have the RD's check my notes. The RD's are VERY helpful to me and I cannot thank them enough for all of their help!!! As an intern, it is important to take any and all advice from the dietitians your are working with.
I was very lucky and was able to shadowed a wound-care nurse for an day. IT WAS AWESOME! I thought I would not like seeing wounds but I learned valuable information. One thing I learned was how to tell if a patient has a pressure ulcer or not. Pressure ulcers have to have a bone under it.
I saw a couple wound-vac changes. (http://www.kci1.com/KCI1/vactherapy) Wound Vac's are really neat! I think it's a great idea and they speed up the healing process by 80%!
I feel some what confident in seeing patients. It's amazing how much I've learned in two weeks at the hospital and I wish I had more hospital experience as an undergraduate, I would have understood a lot more of my clinical class and what was expected from me in terms of writing my notes.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
FDACS FNW Week
Sometimes things do not go as planned. My clinical start date was pushed back two weeks so I spent two weeks at FNW in October, rather than in January. Going back to my department was really nice because I was able to meet more people in the department and gain more of an understanding of our department .
Coming into this program I knew very little about Child Nutrition Programs. While here at FNW I learned what some of the issues are with the new meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program.
Our department really worked hand in hand with the schools this year to help them get through these school lunch changes. For those of you that do not know what the changes were, this year, United States Department of Agriculture implemented a new meal pattern.
Through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by the First Lady and signed by President Obama, USDA made the first major changes in school meals in 15 years, which will help us raise a healthier generation of children. The new standards align school meals with the latest nutrition science and the real world circumstances of America’s schools. These responsible reforms do what’s right for children’s health in a way that’s achievable in schools across the Nation.
Coming into this program I knew very little about Child Nutrition Programs. While here at FNW I learned what some of the issues are with the new meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program.
Our department really worked hand in hand with the schools this year to help them get through these school lunch changes. For those of you that do not know what the changes were, this year, United States Department of Agriculture implemented a new meal pattern.
Through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by the First Lady and signed by President Obama, USDA made the first major changes in school meals in 15 years, which will help us raise a healthier generation of children. The new standards align school meals with the latest nutrition science and the real world circumstances of America’s schools. These responsible reforms do what’s right for children’s health in a way that’s achievable in schools across the Nation.
This new meal pattern implemented specific amounts of food items for each grade group (K-5, 6-8, 9-12). Vegetables contained weekly sub-group amounts. There are minimum daily grain and meat/meat alternative requirements. Milk must be low fat unflavored or fat free flavored or unflavored.
More information can be found on this topic at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/legislation/nutritionstandards.htm
While at FDACS during these two weeks I started working on my intern research paper, the topic is influences on student food choices in schools.
While at FDACS during these two weeks I started working on my intern research paper, the topic is influences on student food choices in schools.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Dept of Ed- Office of Healthy Schools
The first two weeks of October I was at the Department of Education- Office of Healthy Schools. This rotation was awesome. Everyone was super excited to have us there, our preceptor got there an hour early to prepare for us!
At this rotation we get to work on lesson plans for all grades (K-12) in order to integrate nutrition into the class rooms. We're also working on integrating physical education and health education concepts into our lesson plans. We created 7 lesson plans total!
We had a few projects on the side to complete, we were asked to make a brief nutrition education tip of the month for the 'on hold' recording for DOE. Another project we worked was to make a Myplate puzzle.
While at this rotation, the staff came to check on us to see how we were doing and see if we needed anything. This really made us feel welcome. Our preceptor was impressed with how much work we were able to finish. She emailed our director to thank her for having us intern there. The email was then forwarded to another staff member at Dept. of Ag. It's great to be recognized for our hard work!
Our lesson plans are posted on the FDACS website: http://www.freshforfloridakids.com/Sponsors/Programs/DieteticInternshipProgram/NutritionEducationLessonPlansandMaterials.aspx
At this rotation we get to work on lesson plans for all grades (K-12) in order to integrate nutrition into the class rooms. We're also working on integrating physical education and health education concepts into our lesson plans. We created 7 lesson plans total!
We had a few projects on the side to complete, we were asked to make a brief nutrition education tip of the month for the 'on hold' recording for DOE. Another project we worked was to make a Myplate puzzle.
While at this rotation, the staff came to check on us to see how we were doing and see if we needed anything. This really made us feel welcome. Our preceptor was impressed with how much work we were able to finish. She emailed our director to thank her for having us intern there. The email was then forwarded to another staff member at Dept. of Ag. It's great to be recognized for our hard work!
Our lesson plans are posted on the FDACS website: http://www.freshforfloridakids.com/Sponsors/Programs/DieteticInternshipProgram/NutritionEducationLessonPlansandMaterials.aspx
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Long Term Care
Three weeks of the internship just flew by.
This week we started working at a nursing home. Our preceptor showed us around the facility and introduced us to all of the staff. I sat in on the weekly resident care process meeting and listened to a few of the care processes for some residents. Every day the chef in the kitchen made us salads for lunch, they were delicious and all the staff was very friendly!
I started looking at the medical records to find a patient to use the nutrition care process on, but I had never looked at a medical record before. It was a whole new process. I took some time to go through the big binder and figure out where everything was. Next I had to decipher what was written.
At this rotation I sat in on a US foods meeting which was very interesting. I was able to see how the system works for ordering foods and saw their nutrient analysis program which can be used for menus. We talked to the RD after the meeting, for this facility the dietitian is only present one day a week.
Over the course of the week we finished 10 ADIME notes (nutrition care process documentation) and completed our requirements at the facility.
Seeing the patients here at the nursing home really made me smile, most of the patients congregate in the hall and they are always moving around the halls. Many of the patients would say good morning and ask who I was. They were friendly and I really enjoyed chatting with them!
This week we started working at a nursing home. Our preceptor showed us around the facility and introduced us to all of the staff. I sat in on the weekly resident care process meeting and listened to a few of the care processes for some residents. Every day the chef in the kitchen made us salads for lunch, they were delicious and all the staff was very friendly!
I started looking at the medical records to find a patient to use the nutrition care process on, but I had never looked at a medical record before. It was a whole new process. I took some time to go through the big binder and figure out where everything was. Next I had to decipher what was written.
At this rotation I sat in on a US foods meeting which was very interesting. I was able to see how the system works for ordering foods and saw their nutrient analysis program which can be used for menus. We talked to the RD after the meeting, for this facility the dietitian is only present one day a week.
Over the course of the week we finished 10 ADIME notes (nutrition care process documentation) and completed our requirements at the facility.
Seeing the patients here at the nursing home really made me smile, most of the patients congregate in the hall and they are always moving around the halls. Many of the patients would say good morning and ask who I was. They were friendly and I really enjoyed chatting with them!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
WIC
Week two started the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) rotation. This is a community nutrition rotation.
I learned about the WIC system and food packages. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. (http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/)
I watched how the WIC clinic accepts new clients and also watched how the checks are given. There were many projects given during this rotation. My first project: Make a table of the 34 infant formulas you can get from WIC (only 4 are contract, the other 30 you need a doctor's note for) and compare them to breast milk. My assignment was 8 pages in length, comparing carbohydrate source, protein source, fat source, other added nutrients, fiber, osmolarity, calories and use for every formula.
The next project to do was to make 10 short easy recipes, and two lesson plans with handouts to go with it.
While at WIC, I was able to sit in with the nutritionists and listen to their nutrition education. It was kind of cool to see what was going on and how to interact with clients. I really enjoyed this part of this rotation.
Friday we attended a Health Fair in another county, representing WIC.
WIC taught me how to communication with a client.
The second week at WIC was pretty good, Monday I went to the other Leon County WIC office and observed the LD (Licensed Dietitian) at their office. The RD/LD's are the only persons at WIC who can see the high risk clients and the medical issue clients.
I attended the breastfeeding classes. It was interesting and I actually enjoyed listening to mother's talk about their future concerns and breastfeeding mothers talked about their past problems and how they over came them. I'm completely pro-breastfeeding (not that I wasn't before WIC). I learned such valuable information at WIC about breastfeeding . I feel that WIC does a GREAT job supporting breastfeeding with their breastfeeding support group class.
The second week I was able to counsel my own WIC clients. I did two that afternoon with a different RD. It went well for the most part. I easily met the goal of counseling 10 clients. Everything turned out really good for this rotation and our evaluations. The Dietitians gave great advice to me. WIC was a great experience.
I learned about the WIC system and food packages. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. (http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/)
I watched how the WIC clinic accepts new clients and also watched how the checks are given. There were many projects given during this rotation. My first project: Make a table of the 34 infant formulas you can get from WIC (only 4 are contract, the other 30 you need a doctor's note for) and compare them to breast milk. My assignment was 8 pages in length, comparing carbohydrate source, protein source, fat source, other added nutrients, fiber, osmolarity, calories and use for every formula.
The next project to do was to make 10 short easy recipes, and two lesson plans with handouts to go with it.
While at WIC, I was able to sit in with the nutritionists and listen to their nutrition education. It was kind of cool to see what was going on and how to interact with clients. I really enjoyed this part of this rotation.
Friday we attended a Health Fair in another county, representing WIC.
WIC taught me how to communication with a client.
The second week at WIC was pretty good, Monday I went to the other Leon County WIC office and observed the LD (Licensed Dietitian) at their office. The RD/LD's are the only persons at WIC who can see the high risk clients and the medical issue clients.
I attended the breastfeeding classes. It was interesting and I actually enjoyed listening to mother's talk about their future concerns and breastfeeding mothers talked about their past problems and how they over came them. I'm completely pro-breastfeeding (not that I wasn't before WIC). I learned such valuable information at WIC about breastfeeding . I feel that WIC does a GREAT job supporting breastfeeding with their breastfeeding support group class.
The second week I was able to counsel my own WIC clients. I did two that afternoon with a different RD. It went well for the most part. I easily met the goal of counseling 10 clients. Everything turned out really good for this rotation and our evaluations. The Dietitians gave great advice to me. WIC was a great experience.
Monday, September 10, 2012
FIRST WEEK AS AN INTERN!
Week one officially finished of my dietetic internship.. only 37 more to go... The first week was spent at Food, Nutrition and Wellness. During this week, we reviewed our schedule and worked on a menu project for the summer break spot program. It was interesting to learn about the Summer Food Service Program, I knew very little about the program prior to working at Food, Nutrition and Wellness.
We got fruit buddies from our internship director- they use these fruit and vegetable buddies in schools to promote fresh fruit and vegetables.
After the first week of the internship. I was exhausted. I only worked a 4 day week but man it took a lot out of me! I was unsure of what was coming in the future weeks. I took some time and explored Tallahassee.
After the first week of the internship. I was exhausted. I only worked a 4 day week but man it took a lot out of me! I was unsure of what was coming in the future weeks. I took some time and explored Tallahassee.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
FDACS Internship Program
The dietetic internship program I was selected into was from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness (FDACS, FNW). This internship is located in Tallahassee, Florida. This internship program is nine months long and accepts only two interns per year. This program is concentrated on the Unites States Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Programs and school food service management. Completion of the internship gives eligibility to take the Commission on Dietetic Registration's Registration Examination for Dietitians.
The mission of the Dietetic Internship Program is to provide quality supervised practice and didactic training, with a focus in School Food Service Management. Students will develop the expertise and skills necessary to apply the nutrition knowledge and theory of their didactic education to the work environment.
There are many rotations that I will go through. Each rotation will have it's own blog entry. The rotations I will be going through are:
Clinic Rotation - Fourteen Weeks
Pediatric Pulmonary Center, Gainesville, Florida - 2 weeks
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare - Diabetes Center - 1 week
DaVita Healthcare, Tallahassee/surrounding area – 2 weeks
Riverchase Care Center, Quincy, Florida – 1 week
Food Service Rotation - Eight Weeks
Sarasota County School Board – Osprey, Florida and surrounding area - 4 weeks
School District of Manatee County – Bradenton, Florida – 2 weeks
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare r – 2 weeks
Community Rotation - Sixteen Weeks
Leon County Health Department - WIC, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Food, Nutrition and Wellness and Office of Healthy Schools, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida Department of Health – Child Care Food Program, Tallahassee, Florida
University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Wakulla, Florida
Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Tallahassee, Florida
For more information check out: http://www.freshforfloridakids.com/Sponsors/Programs/DieteticInternshipProgram.aspx
I am officially an intern. We received our schedule. The other intern and myself are together for many rotations which will be VERY helpful. I start clinical in just over a month, and we start our rotation at WIC next week. Jan-Feb we'll be traveling to Sarasota school district and we'll be there for a month! We were given many projects and assignments. After we talked about our internship schedule we got our background checks done- thank goodness our director drove us there! I would have never found the place!
The Food, Nutrition, and Wellness (FNW) department is really making the right steps towards a healthier schools. They are implementing the food menu changes while undergoing a department change (entire department changed in Jan 2012 from Department of Education to Department of Agriculture). They are working on grants, funding for schools, working with USDA on many projects, they have an awesome Nutrition Ed program-- all being led by a great team leader- Robin. She's actually an attorney to help with the move from Education to Agriculture and also into the government to help make changes for nutrition. She's really a go-getter!
I'm excited to be in this internship!
The mission of the Dietetic Internship Program is to provide quality supervised practice and didactic training, with a focus in School Food Service Management. Students will develop the expertise and skills necessary to apply the nutrition knowledge and theory of their didactic education to the work environment.
There are many rotations that I will go through. Each rotation will have it's own blog entry. The rotations I will be going through are:
Clinic Rotation - Fourteen Weeks
Pediatric Pulmonary Center, Gainesville, Florida - 2 weeks
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare - Diabetes Center - 1 week
DaVita Healthcare, Tallahassee/surrounding area – 2 weeks
Riverchase Care Center, Quincy, Florida – 1 week
Food Service Rotation - Eight Weeks
Sarasota County School Board – Osprey, Florida and surrounding area - 4 weeks
School District of Manatee County – Bradenton, Florida – 2 weeks
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare r – 2 weeks
Community Rotation - Sixteen Weeks
Leon County Health Department - WIC, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Food, Nutrition and Wellness and Office of Healthy Schools, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida Department of Health – Child Care Food Program, Tallahassee, Florida
University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Wakulla, Florida
Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Tallahassee, Florida
For more information check out: http://www.freshforfloridakids.com/Sponsors/Programs/DieteticInternshipProgram.aspx
I am officially an intern. We received our schedule. The other intern and myself are together for many rotations which will be VERY helpful. I start clinical in just over a month, and we start our rotation at WIC next week. Jan-Feb we'll be traveling to Sarasota school district and we'll be there for a month! We were given many projects and assignments. After we talked about our internship schedule we got our background checks done- thank goodness our director drove us there! I would have never found the place!
The Food, Nutrition, and Wellness (FNW) department is really making the right steps towards a healthier schools. They are implementing the food menu changes while undergoing a department change (entire department changed in Jan 2012 from Department of Education to Department of Agriculture). They are working on grants, funding for schools, working with USDA on many projects, they have an awesome Nutrition Ed program-- all being led by a great team leader- Robin. She's actually an attorney to help with the move from Education to Agriculture and also into the government to help make changes for nutrition. She's really a go-getter!
I'm excited to be in this internship!
Introduction to my blog :)
I'm Brittany- a Dietetic Intern with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. I decided to start a blog to document my experiences as an intern, and hopefully help future interns with this whole crazy process. I'll also enlighten those who are reading this about my career and what it takes to become a Registered Dietitian.
First- I need to set some acronyms I will use from here on out.
DI= Dietetic Intern
FDACS= Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
RD=Registered Dietitian
There will be plenty more to come...
For those of you unfamiliar with RD's here is some helpful definitions. According to Wikipedia "Dietitians are experts in food and nutrition. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal. Dietitians work in various different capacities in the field of healthcare, food service, corporate setting, and educational arenas".
RD's have a more complete education related to nutrition, where as "A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical nutritionist, and sports nutritionist". In my world there is a HUGE difference between RD and a Nutritionist, so please don't confuse these!
So where do I stand in this world of nutritionist and RD's? I am considered a nutritionist at the moment because I have taken nutrition classes. Any one that takes a nutrition class can call themselves a nutritionist. However, in order to become a RD, I have to complete a dietetic internship then take an exam and only then, after I pass, can I add 'RD' after my name.
As an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island (URI), the in -state university I chose to go to school at, I started out as a Nursing student. I realized within my first year at school that nursing wasn't my career path that I wanted. I knew I wanted to do something health care related and I wanted to work with people- not sit at a desk all day.
I had a meltdown the summer after my freshman year because I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I spoke with career services and took a career exam. I based my fall classes off the results of the exam- nutrition being one of those classes. I realized this was the career for me. I'm pretty sure I didn't realize I would still be in school 5 years later... I completed my sophomore year at URI and did a national exchange at the University of Hawaii (UH) for two semesters- my entire junior year. I took summer courses and graduated on time (within 4 years) from URI with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. So therefore I can call myself a nutritionist.
My senior year at URI I applied for dietetic internships. I applied for 5 or 6 internship, paid at least $50 a piece for the applications, had to pay for a matching program ( it was roughly $600 total I spent), only to find out two months later in April 2010, that I wasn't matched with any programs and I had nothing planned for after graduation.
I then had another melt down and had no idea what to do with my future. Thank goodness for my exchange to Hawaii because one the Chef who taught my food service management class in Hawaii encouraged me to apply to the graduate program at UH. He wrote my a recommendation letter for the program. I was accepted into the food science master's program withing a few weeks. I started the the coming fall. I had somewhat of a plan again.
UH proved to be a challenge, there were many ups and downs with the program. I ended up changing into their Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences program where I finished my degree summer 2012.
Still, I can only call my self a nutritionist, but this time I'm Brittany Pond, MS. One step closer to "RD" I guess. February 2012, I applied for 5 dietetic internship programs, again paying a few more hundred dollars only to find out April 2012 that once again I was not matched with any programs.
In March 2012 I had an interview with one program- I had to be up at 3:30am to do an interview for 5am with an east coast internship. I thought I was going to get into that program and I was absolutely devastated when I didn't get in. I was full of doubt and miserable. Twice I did not get into an internship and I figured 'RD' was not my path.
I just thought about finishing my MS degree and getting through the rest of the semester. Well.. Things changed three days after I was not matched. I received a call from the internship which interviewed me! One of the selected interns turned the acceptance down (kind of a big no-no/taboo in the dietetic world). I couldn't have been more happier to be accepted! My dreams of being and RD were coming true!
So my very long winded story was to explain that dietetics is a tough field to get into. There is only about a 50% match rate for internships. For me, getting to this internship program has taken a while and I've dealt with ups and downs but I've worked hard to to get to where I want to be. I know everything will be worth it in the end.
First- I need to set some acronyms I will use from here on out.
DI= Dietetic Intern
FDACS= Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
RD=Registered Dietitian
There will be plenty more to come...
For those of you unfamiliar with RD's here is some helpful definitions. According to Wikipedia "Dietitians are experts in food and nutrition. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal. Dietitians work in various different capacities in the field of healthcare, food service, corporate setting, and educational arenas".
RD's have a more complete education related to nutrition, where as "A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical nutritionist, and sports nutritionist". In my world there is a HUGE difference between RD and a Nutritionist, so please don't confuse these!
So where do I stand in this world of nutritionist and RD's? I am considered a nutritionist at the moment because I have taken nutrition classes. Any one that takes a nutrition class can call themselves a nutritionist. However, in order to become a RD, I have to complete a dietetic internship then take an exam and only then, after I pass, can I add 'RD' after my name.
As an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island (URI), the in -state university I chose to go to school at, I started out as a Nursing student. I realized within my first year at school that nursing wasn't my career path that I wanted. I knew I wanted to do something health care related and I wanted to work with people- not sit at a desk all day.
I had a meltdown the summer after my freshman year because I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I spoke with career services and took a career exam. I based my fall classes off the results of the exam- nutrition being one of those classes. I realized this was the career for me. I'm pretty sure I didn't realize I would still be in school 5 years later... I completed my sophomore year at URI and did a national exchange at the University of Hawaii (UH) for two semesters- my entire junior year. I took summer courses and graduated on time (within 4 years) from URI with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. So therefore I can call myself a nutritionist.
My senior year at URI I applied for dietetic internships. I applied for 5 or 6 internship, paid at least $50 a piece for the applications, had to pay for a matching program ( it was roughly $600 total I spent), only to find out two months later in April 2010, that I wasn't matched with any programs and I had nothing planned for after graduation.
I then had another melt down and had no idea what to do with my future. Thank goodness for my exchange to Hawaii because one the Chef who taught my food service management class in Hawaii encouraged me to apply to the graduate program at UH. He wrote my a recommendation letter for the program. I was accepted into the food science master's program withing a few weeks. I started the the coming fall. I had somewhat of a plan again.
UH proved to be a challenge, there were many ups and downs with the program. I ended up changing into their Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences program where I finished my degree summer 2012.
Still, I can only call my self a nutritionist, but this time I'm Brittany Pond, MS. One step closer to "RD" I guess. February 2012, I applied for 5 dietetic internship programs, again paying a few more hundred dollars only to find out April 2012 that once again I was not matched with any programs.
In March 2012 I had an interview with one program- I had to be up at 3:30am to do an interview for 5am with an east coast internship. I thought I was going to get into that program and I was absolutely devastated when I didn't get in. I was full of doubt and miserable. Twice I did not get into an internship and I figured 'RD' was not my path.
I just thought about finishing my MS degree and getting through the rest of the semester. Well.. Things changed three days after I was not matched. I received a call from the internship which interviewed me! One of the selected interns turned the acceptance down (kind of a big no-no/taboo in the dietetic world). I couldn't have been more happier to be accepted! My dreams of being and RD were coming true!
So my very long winded story was to explain that dietetics is a tough field to get into. There is only about a 50% match rate for internships. For me, getting to this internship program has taken a while and I've dealt with ups and downs but I've worked hard to to get to where I want to be. I know everything will be worth it in the end.
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