​Hi everyone! I am Claudia DeMatteis, a Sodexo Dietetic Intern in Region 2. I am currently in my intermediate clinical rotation at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT. UConn Health is a 224-bed teaching hospital. It has been especially great to complete my clinical rotation in a teaching hospital because so many students from other disciplines are learning alongside me daily.
 
I have spent over 200 hours in the inpatient setting, and I cannot believe how much I have grown personally and professionally during the last few weeks. I recently graduated from my undergraduate DPD program in May. Without any clinical experience under my belt, I previously thought of participating in a patient's care plan and putting my knowledge into practice to be nerve-racking. But I have found that having courage gives you the ability to put aside your fear of failure and grow.
 
My time in the inpatient setting has been profound. Having an unobstructed view of the American healthcare system has allowed me to see firsthand the social determinants of health and the health disparities in our communities. In our undergraduate medical nutrition therapy courses, we often learn about one disease state at a time. But upon starting my clinical rotation, it quickly became apparent that it is far more common to see a patient with numerous comorbidities than it is to see a patient with a free-standing medical condition.
 
I have cared for patients in various disease states, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, psychiatric illness, cancer, renal disease, and severe malnutrition. Most patients simultaneously have at least two or three of these conditions upon admission, making prioritization essential when assessing a patient.
 
Along the same lines, I have learned that two patients with similar illnesses are likely to have vastly different plans of care. It is essential to take an individualized approach when addressing a patient's nutrition-related needs to create more meaningful and effective interventions.
 
It has been a rewarding experience to participate in an interdisciplinary healthcare team, especially when we are consulted for enteral and parenteral nutrition recommendations. I feel incredibly welcomed and encouraged by the Registered Dietitians at UConn Health. They allow me to act independently yet have been there for support every time I need it. Most importantly, they have taught me the value of providing quality and compassionate nutrition care. My clinical rotation has provided me with invaluable lessons, stressing the importance of having confidence, flexibility, respect, attention to detail, emotional stability, and most importantly, empathy.

Hello everyone!  My name is Jenna Deak.  I’m from region 5 and reside in Baltimore, MD. I have recently completed my food service management rotation and I’m in my last week of my patient service management rotation at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. All of the management and employees at this facility have been so friendly, helpful, and amazing to work with.
 
During my food service rotation, my preceptor, the executive chef, taught me how to conduct inventory, place orders, develop menus, manage a budget, and supervise and lead a team. As I reflect on my experience thus far, not only have I learned these food service management skills, but I have also learned to be more of a leader, comfortable taking risks, and confident in adapting to new experiences. I used the skills I gained to market and generate sales for my retail marketing and wellness project. For this project, I created a Halloween themed lunch with an innovative meal and provided nutrition information to customers by walking around the cafeteria at peak hours and handing out pamphlets. In order to prepare for the lunch, I created a menu, ordered food within my hospital’s budget, posted flyers around the cafeteria, and provided decorations that coordinated with my event. This has been my favorite project thus far because I was able to use the skills I learned alongside my creativity to completely conduct the vision I saw for this event and teach customers about the nutrition.
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I didn’t expect to enjoy the food service rotation as much as I did. I will carry these skills I’ve gained thus far with me through the remainder of my internship and my career that follows to succeed in my future career as a Registered Dietitian. I look forward to continuing my rotations at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where I will also be doing my clinical rotations at the hospital’s inpatient units, and working with the lactation consultant and pediatric dietitian for my leadership concentration in the NICU and PICU. I am so happy to be a part of Sodexo’s dietetic internship; I would recommend this program to everyone. I'm eager to continue the rest of my journey as a dietetic intern and soon-to-be registered dietitian!

​Greetings from Region 6, Lexington Kentucky.
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Hi everyone I just started my first rotation in community. My community rotation is with the community outreach director at the University of Kentucky. She has already taught me so much and has really gotten me involved with projects she’s been working on. I have mostly been working with the University of Kentucky’s Campus Kitchen. Campus Kitchen retrieves still usable groceries including fruits, vegetables, and meats from local groceries such as Kroger and Whole Foods. These items are then made into meals that are distributed to students on campus that need meals, and also sent out into the local community here in Lexington to those in need. I have been helping to plan meals with the food that is retrieved from these stores. Sometimes it is difficult to come up with recipes because you never know what’s going to be brought in, so we have to get creative. So far, we have made several casseroles and stir fries that have been distributed throughout the local community. It gives me a great feeling knowing I’ve played a hand in helping feed someone in need of a hot meal.
 
I have also been helping write a grant proposal in Get Into Motion, an app that will be used by local groceries as a database for community kitchens to let them know what’s available for retrieval. It’s been so great to see all these items that would have been wasted transformed into nutritious meals for those in need of a meal. In the short time I have been with my preceptor and Campus Kitchen, I feel like I have been exposed to so much. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience thus far, and I am looking forward to seeing what we accomplish in the coming weeks.

Hello! My name is Jillian, and I am a region 4 intern outside of Philadelphia. I am 3 weeks into my internship, currently at my food service management rotation at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Collegeville, PA. Having some background in hospital food service, I am delighted to see a different side of food service at a corporate location like GSK. There is a lot of freedom and creativity that goes into menu planning for the employees that results in delicious and healthy food every day of the week. Since there are a small number of employees here, I have gotten to work closely with each of them to get a full experience of their job duties. I have had the pleasure to work closely with the front and back of the house managers, employees, and chefs.
 
Since I learn best by trying things myself, I’ve become more comfortable with asking to complete tasks with guidance rather than observing. This has given me the chance to maximize my learning experience while increasing my autonomy during the internship. I have made and received orders, worked in cold and hot production, served food, costed out menu items, completed temperature checks, got involved with the hiring process, and even learned how to use a mandolin slicer! This is just some of all I have experienced in my first 2 weeks here.
 
Something I have learned from the chefs at GSK is that food presentation MATTERS! This seems obvious, but I truly found it surprising how thoughtful the chefs are about what goes where in their dishes. There is a method to their madness in order to increase sales and appeal to what they are creating. Buyers may not consciously notice all of the work that has gone into the presentation of their food, but subconsciously they are taking it into account when choosing what to eat. I now put careful thought into what is going to look the best when helping in food production to increase sales!
 
The most important thing I have learned in my first 3 weeks of the internship is how crucial it is to be an advocate for yourself and your time. The preceptor is not responsible for making sure you are meeting your competencies, you are! What has helped me is sitting down with my preceptor at the end of every day and talking about what you’ve done today and what you can do tomorrow or schedule for a later date. This has kept me on top of my responsibilities while at my rotation.
 
I am excited to see what the future holds for the rest of my internship and hope they are all as positive as my food service management rotation!

​The Nutrition Focused Physical Exam (NFPE) is a tool inside every registered dietitian’s pocket and is an essential part of the Nutrition care process (NCP). Therefore, it is crucial as a dietetic intern to be competent and confident when applying such tool to assess the nutritional needs of others. My name is Natasha “Tasha” Rumsey, and I am a Sodexo intern from region 11 located in Denver Colorado. I had the pleasure of completing my long-term care rotation and clinical nutrition management rotations in Seattle Washington at a continued care retirement community with a former Sodexo intern Emily Haymond. While working under my preceptor in Washington, I learned firsthand invaluable skills. One of which was how to perform the NFPE with confidence.
 
To refresh everyone’s mind, the NFPE is a piece of the NCP in which dietitians collect, interpret, and analyze findings from the NFPE, interview, and the health record including: muscle and subcutaneous fat, oral health, suck/swallow/breathe ability, appetite, and affect. The NFPE requires hands-on contact with individuals to perform our jobs effectively and accurately as nutrition professionals. The Covid 19 pandemic, my lack of experience, and my low confidence to perform such a task in general, let alone on the older population (whom I admire and respect greatly), presented a challenge. I knew that this was something I needed more experience with. After such realization, I apprehensively communicated this with Emily. She then assured me that this was a tool she would gladly help me improve upon.
 
From that moment on I knew I was in great hands. Emily guided me step-by-step through one NFPE and from there I soared. Every resident I assessed and evaluated supplied my practical experience. I applied skills and knowledge with confidence and my abilities supported that. I remembered my mission: to help those in nutritional need the best I could. My preceptor shared a few tips that I would like to share with you. While performing the NFPE, get to know your resident. This is an opportunity to learn more about whether they have had any changes in weight, appetite, or bowel movements (amongst others). In addition to the physical findings, it allows you to investigate where you can be further effective. She helped me see that I could utilize the time to be efficient. I could physically assess the resident while determining if there were other areas that needed addressed. Once I understood this, I was no longer afraid or intimidated of performing the NFPE. My newly acquired skill took the attention off myself and directed it toward the resident. I will forever be grateful for Emily’s patience and kindness for showing me how to perform the NFPE.
 
Before I go, I want to encourage others to speak up regarding areas of the internship or about any part of the NCP that is challenging or seems intimidating because of lack of confidence. Ask for help; a little bit of direction, guidance, and encouragement can do wonders for a person. Confidence requires maintenance, and I believe my experience will (and already has) translate to other areas of my life. 

Aloha! Ciao! Hello everyone, my name is Rose Wenderski. I live in the rainbow state of Hawaii, part of region 12. I am currently in the last week of my advanced clinical rotation. For my blog post, I would like to share a highlight from my food service rotation. I will preface by stating that I have been a vegetarian since age 3. During my food service rotation, I did my hours at an all-girls Catholic school. At my food service rotation, I created a vegetarian dish. I sold my dish to students as a lunch menu item. I created a dish called Kung Wow. The dish was comprised of Kung Pao Tofu with sautéed vegetables and one scoop of rice. The dish ran for two weeks, and over 26 students ordered my lunch option. I was so grateful for the opportunity to share vegetarian dishes with students. The dish was a success and will be featured every couple of months as a secondary lunch option for the students to order. 

Next, I would like to share a bit about my clinical rotation. I know clinical can seem overwhelming at first, but after a couple weeks, you will get the hang of it and be able to see patients on your own. I can confidently say that I can see up to 8 patients a day, mostly on my own. The start of my clinical rotation begins each day with screening patient’s floors. I follow the hospital's guidelines, of which patients are considered high priority and need a nutritional assessment. Just know as an intern, you might be doing a lot of diet education. After I screen patients, I pick the top 8 patients with top priority and need to be seen. Next, I look in the electronic medical record for each patient's medical information. I look at anthropometric measurements, past medical history, doctor’s notes, and current diet orders. Next, I go to the patient’s room and conduct a nutrition assessment by asking questions about their appetite, symptoms they experience, appetite at home, and weight history. Next, I look for any physical signs of malnutrition. The malnutrition screening tool is a must have when entering patient's rooms. Around 1 in 3 patients in the hospital are considered malnourished. After I see patients, I sit and chart on patients and diagnose patients with a nutrition-related problem.

​Here are some quick tips that have helped me during my clinical rotations.

1. Bring the malnutrition screening tool into every patient room
2. Be comfortable with the nutrition care process
3. Bring a pocket handbook or nutrition textbook with you
4. Have access to the nutrition care process terminology
5. Be familiar with some popular disease states (diabetes, ESRD, and cardiac)
6. Bring a positive attitude – clinicals are challenging but know you are stronger than you think and know that you will get through this. 

Hello! My name is Tyler Strzemieczny and I am a region 4 intern from Southern New Jersey. I am currently in my community rotation at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Vorhees/Camden NJ. Prior to starting my community rotation, I completed my Foodservice Management, Clinical, and Wellness concentration rotations at Cooper University Hospital. Interning at Cooper has given me such a great insight on how a dietitian can thrive in the hospital and the many different challenges one can encounter.

During my clinical rotation, I was able to intern with a different dietitian every two weeks. Seeing the different approaches these dietitians had truly helped me formulate my own. Although I was intimidated at first, I quickly learned to adapt to the nature of clinical dietetics as I conducted numerous nutrition assessments and diet educations daily. The dietitians at Cooper went above and beyond to help me improve throughout my rotation, offering important constructive criticism, insight, and tips to help me succeed. This allowed me to gain a great amount of confidence each week until I was able to work independently during my staff relief rotation.  

Now that I am currently interning with an outpatient oncology dietitian, I am able to gain insight on the path of patients during their hospital admission and after at the outpatient center. Prior to beginning this internship program, I had always seen myself as an outpatient dietitian, and to have this experience at MD Anderson, I am sure the outpatient setting is where would like to begin my career.

Hello, My name is Megan and I am a Sodexo Dietetic Intern in Region 3 with a concentration in Diabetes. I am currently in my concentration rotation and am on the road to completing my internship in less than a month! I am completing my Diabetes concentration with the Friedman Diabetes Institute in Manhattan; I have only just begun but am already enjoying the experience.

My first rotation was in clinical nutrition management and the next week I began clinical. Clinical was the most daunting for me, as it is for many. The fears I experienced are now looked back on as what was actually excitement. Moving from site to site and preceptor to preceptor allowed me to feel that fear/excitement many times. This helped me in growing to embrace change and new environments or people. My preceptors allowed me to be autonomous but always provided support when needed. I was able to ask questions, have discussions, and observe many styles of assessments/counseling.
 
There is so much to learn from each one of these rotations.  You learn about yourself professionally, your strengths/weaknesses, and of course your passions! My weakness when starting this internship was in public speaking and overall confidence regarding what I think and say. After 7 months of the internship, I now can barely remember those feelings and I am confident enough to speak on what I know, think, and feel without much fear. This has happened through the many opportunities I have either pursued or have been prompted to do from preceptors. This has included speaking to hundreds of patients individually in their most vulnerable states during clinical to presenting to 25 people about nutrition at a restaurant during my community rotation.
 
I have found that when speaking your mind, it allows preceptors and healthcare providers to fill in your “gaps” of knowledge and make you an overall better professional. Everyone during your internship is there to help you be better, they do not expect or want you to know everything. My best advise to future interns of any kind is to know where or how to find the answer to relevant information. My preceptors were always eager to improve my knowledge and skills and I hope to one day provide that to future interns as a preceptor myself!

​Hello! My name is Mallie Stewart, and I am a Sodexo dietetic intern for region 6 in Lexington, Kentucky (which so happens to be my hometown). I am currently two months away from completing my internship, which is so crazy to think about. But I could not be more excited to enter the ‘real world’ and start applying for jobs. It has been a wonderful journey completing my clinical and food service rotations at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital here in Lexington. I completed my clinical rotations in early June, and it was a wonderful experience. When I first began my clinical rotations, it was a rather easy transition because I had previously shadowed the dietitians at Cardinal Hill many times before. I jumped right into my clinicals with ease and learned so much from all the dietitians at Cardinal Hill. I have developed close relationships with all my preceptors and the entire dietary department.. I consider them family and Cardinal Hill has become my home away from home!

​My favorite part about completing my clinicals at a rehabilitation hospital is having had the opportunity to be a part of many patients’ road to recovery. The best part is at the end of their stay at Cardinal Hill, the entire clinical staff will line the halls and cheer and clap for the patient and congratulate them on their recovery. This experience often solidifies why I chose this profession, and why I want to continue make an impact on people’s lives within my community.
 
I have also been fortunate enough to complete my internship alongside a former classmate and fellow Sodexo dietetic intern, Olivia. A fun memory that has happened during the internship, is that we were able to walk-in graduation this past May. We both graduated from the University of Kentucky in December 2020 and were unfortunately unable to have a proper graduation due to COVID-19. It was a joyful memory, and I am so glad we were finally able to attend our graduation ceremony in-person.

Hi everyone! My name is Sandy Habib, and I am from region 4. I am in process of finishing my food service rotation at Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City. I have enjoyed my experience at the medical center where I have completed my clinical, CNM and foodservice rotation. I have learned so much from all my amazing preceptors! It is weird to know that I am more than halfway through my internship! It just feels like I have just started!

As reflect on my DI, I have started with my clinical rotation, CNM, then my foodservice rotation. I was nervous going to my first day in the clinical rotation without previous experience and how I will take the responsibility of diagnosing a patient, and many other thoughts! However, wearing the white coat and scrub on my first day of the rotation created a totally different character of me who can take a lead of their patients and change their world! Also, having the support of my amazing preceptors and Sodexo internship director helped me to feel more comfortable and to become a professional future dietitian. I have built a new me during the clinical rotation with new skills, experiences and being professional!