Jennifer Contreras - Region 12

Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Contreras and I am a region 12 Sodexo intern. I am also a part of the GP program at the University of Rhode Island. I currently live in Southern California in a city just a few miles from Disneyland. I am in the beginning of my internship, but I would love to share with you all what I have experienced thus far.
 
I just finished my food service rotation and am currently finishing up my patient services rotation. At orientation I felt a little overwhelmed with all of the assignments that were due for the internship portion on top of the assignments due for the graduate program. I must admit that it is a lot of work, but if you can keep yourself well organized and on a good schedule, it is definitely manageable.
 
On the first day of my food service rotation, I was very nervous. I left my house an extra hour early and was able to familiarize myself with the layout of the hospital. When I walked into the nutrition management office, I was greeted by all of the dietitian staff. They were very friendly and welcoming. This made a lot of my nerves go away. There were also two other interns at the hospital doing their food service rotations. I met them on the first day and they helped explain all of my duties and responsibilities. The food service manager was very organized and had all of our projects and assignments planned out ahead of time. I learned a lot from this rotation, and I am very happy with the hospital that I was placed at.
 
On top of my foodservice projects, I was also able to help out with community outreach events. One event I went to was the Carson’s Women’s Health Event. I went with other dietitians from the hospital, and we had a booth with informational pamphlets about nutrition for cancer, portion sizes, and everyday nutrition. We also gave out plant-based recipe cards that were made by each of the dietitians from the hospital. It was an amazing event, and it was very neat to see the dietitians at work making a difference within the community. The women who attended the event loved our table.
 
Overall, I am enjoying the internship experience. It definitely is a lot of work, but you are learning so much. I absolutely love the hospital I was placed at, and the manager of food and nutrition services is a great mentor with a lot of knowledge. 

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