Hello! My name is Sam Lisk, and I am a member of the New York class of the Sodexo Dietetic Internship. I just finished my long term care rotation at Reformed Church Home in Old Bridge, NJ, a facility that is comprised of assisted living, subacute care, skilled nursing and respite care. Because Reformed Church Home offered all of these services, I was able to see many different facets of long term care. I was excited because I had personal experience in a LTC facility. My grandfather lived in assisted living for some time and eventually moved to skilled nursing. I spent so much time at that facility with my grandfather that I felt at home as soon as I walked into RCH. Despite this, I quickly realized how much I had to learn about LTC facilities. Here are some of the things that surprised me the most:
I learned so much from my LTC rotation, and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. I am excited to see what my future rotations have in store for me.
- It is a slower pace than your normal clinical rotations. While you may feel like you should be going as fast as possible, this is the perfect time to practice some of your less-developed skills! For me, I took this week to focus on slowing down during my patient interviews. I really tried to digest every single thing the patient told me, and then use what they said to direct the flow of the conversation. Before, my patient interviews felt like I was going over a checklist. Now that I have had this time to slow down and practice, my patient interviews are more of a guided conversation, which is better for the patient’s morale.
- Communication with staff members is key. In order to give a patient the care they deserve, all of the staff must be on the same page about everything. While this is true in all forms of healthcare, this became much more apparent to me during this rotation due to patient care meetings. This is when a member of each discipline is in a meeting with the patient and their family to discuss the best course of action regarding the patients care. It is imperative that your recommendations are clear, concise and easy to understand for the patient, their family, and the other members of the healthcare team.
- Cognitive levels vary greatly. On the assisted living floor, patients were almost completely self-sufficient. Most rarely needed nutrition education, and I only needed to check in on their appetite and intake. On the dementia floor, patients often could not remember who or where they were. Here, I worked closely with the SLP, as many of the patients had trouble chewing and swallowing. Even though many of these patients are on texture modified diets with limited options, it is still important to get to know them so you know their food preferences, in order to optimize their intake.
I learned so much from my LTC rotation, and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. I am excited to see what my future rotations have in store for me.
