Hi, everyone! My name is Shelby, and I am an intern at the Philadelphia campus. I am a pediatric concentration intern and have spent the majority of my time during my internship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). I have had a passion and a drive to work in pediatrics since I first began to study nutrition. I purposely sought out pediatric nutrition opportunities throughout my undergraduate education to begin to build a knowledge base. Thus, having the opportunity to have my concentration and advanced clinical rotations at CHOP is a dream come true!
Since beginning my time at CHOP, I have had the opportunity to learn from registered dietitians who are truly experts in many diverse specialty areas. Some of these include endocrine, cystic fibrosis, GI, oncology, cardiology, feeding team, bone health, neuromuscular, eating disorders, surgery, and metabolism. As I continue to advance further into my rotations, I will be spending time in critical care settings such as the NICU and PICU. While gaining experience in all of these areas, I have been able to develop and improve my pediatric nutrition assessment and education skills. I have learned that there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to working in pediatrics. Each infant, child, and adolescent has specific growth and weight potentials and calorie and fluid needs, and it’s a registered dietitian’s job to assess, educate, and work towards those individualized goals.
Working as part of an interdisciplinary team in the care of the patients is one of my favorite parts of my internship experience. I have been able to see first-hand the benefit that each team’s specialist perspectives, when combined, ensures the best overall outcome for the patient. It’s an amazing process to be involved in!
The knowledge I have gained about pediatric nutrition, and the ability to apply it when caring for patients and performing nutrition assessments, is invaluable. Seeing first-hand how much nutrition can impact the health and recovery of pediatric patients has only furthered my love for this field! I am so grateful for this opportunity and I am excited to continue to learn and further advance my skills in this area.
Since beginning my time at CHOP, I have had the opportunity to learn from registered dietitians who are truly experts in many diverse specialty areas. Some of these include endocrine, cystic fibrosis, GI, oncology, cardiology, feeding team, bone health, neuromuscular, eating disorders, surgery, and metabolism. As I continue to advance further into my rotations, I will be spending time in critical care settings such as the NICU and PICU. While gaining experience in all of these areas, I have been able to develop and improve my pediatric nutrition assessment and education skills. I have learned that there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to working in pediatrics. Each infant, child, and adolescent has specific growth and weight potentials and calorie and fluid needs, and it’s a registered dietitian’s job to assess, educate, and work towards those individualized goals.
Working as part of an interdisciplinary team in the care of the patients is one of my favorite parts of my internship experience. I have been able to see first-hand the benefit that each team’s specialist perspectives, when combined, ensures the best overall outcome for the patient. It’s an amazing process to be involved in!
The knowledge I have gained about pediatric nutrition, and the ability to apply it when caring for patients and performing nutrition assessments, is invaluable. Seeing first-hand how much nutrition can impact the health and recovery of pediatric patients has only furthered my love for this field! I am so grateful for this opportunity and I am excited to continue to learn and further advance my skills in this area.
