
Hi Everyone! I’m Jenna Copley and I’m an intern in region 1. I am currently placed in my leadership concentration in clinical nutrition management at UMass Memorial Health Alliance in Leominster, MA. So far, I have finished my community rotation with SNAP at a Local Farmers in Falmouth, MA, and my food service management rotation at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. The internship has been chaotic in the best ways possible. My favorite part about this internship is that I have been able to get a diverse view of our field in so many different settings. All of my preceptors have had experience with interns and have been incredibly welcoming.
In my concentration, I spend most, if not all, of my time with the hospital CNM. There is truly no typical day! Some days are spent detailing specialized diets or learning how the hospital system will staff and operate its new outpatient diabetes program or even working in the kitchen! Last week, we were able to provide over 2,300 meals over 5 days to over 500 staff to take home to their families as a show of appreciation for our healthcare workers. In our small kitchen, this is no small feat. In preparation for IDDSI to go live in the hospital on March 1st, I’ve sat in on meetings with nurse educators and speech therapists to discuss training. I’ve also worked with the kitchen to modify our main courses to be IDDSI compliant. I’ve been helping to work out bugs with our new system for taking food orders in patient's rooms called Healthtouch. I even made a Healthtouch training guide for future new hires (and most likely interns). This is just what I’ve done in the last 3 or 4 weeks! My preceptor has really kept me involved in everything that she does.
I’ve truly loved my experience so far with Sodexo. I am continuously blown away by how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I’ve really been able to thrive in the fast-paced, constantly changing environment. My advice to future interns is to be open to everything as it comes. Say yes to everything!
In my concentration, I spend most, if not all, of my time with the hospital CNM. There is truly no typical day! Some days are spent detailing specialized diets or learning how the hospital system will staff and operate its new outpatient diabetes program or even working in the kitchen! Last week, we were able to provide over 2,300 meals over 5 days to over 500 staff to take home to their families as a show of appreciation for our healthcare workers. In our small kitchen, this is no small feat. In preparation for IDDSI to go live in the hospital on March 1st, I’ve sat in on meetings with nurse educators and speech therapists to discuss training. I’ve also worked with the kitchen to modify our main courses to be IDDSI compliant. I’ve been helping to work out bugs with our new system for taking food orders in patient's rooms called Healthtouch. I even made a Healthtouch training guide for future new hires (and most likely interns). This is just what I’ve done in the last 3 or 4 weeks! My preceptor has really kept me involved in everything that she does.
I’ve truly loved my experience so far with Sodexo. I am continuously blown away by how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I’ve really been able to thrive in the fast-paced, constantly changing environment. My advice to future interns is to be open to everything as it comes. Say yes to everything!