Greetings!! My name is Abigail Farchione, and I am a Sodexo dietetic intern through the distance cohort. Currently, I am in my advanced clinical rotation at Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, NY. To say I have learned a lot would be a big understatement! Every day is a new experience and presents its challenges, but there hasn't been any situation I haven't felt equipped to handle with the support of my preceptors. The first couple of weeks felt like a struggle, and I needed a lot of help from the dietitians, but I am a student, and they did not expect me to walk in knowing what to do as a clinical intern. I am here to learn and develop the knowledge and skills needed to be a clinical dietitian. I'll share a secret with you; the preceptors want you to ask questions! It shows you are engaged and excited to learn. Even in those first few weeks, I was seeing patients on my own and charting on patients in the EMR (Emergency Medical Record), and the RDs checked over all of my notes when I finished. In the beginning, my notes were far from perfect, and I had to ask many questions… now, I feel like I am part of the team and the dietitians trust my decisions when it comes to treating a patient. That's me getting super pumped to calculate some tube feeds for the MICU!
One of my favorite parts is talking with the dietitians about treatment options for patients and learning their thought process behind decisions vs. mine. It has helped me learn how to look at the approach to treatment from a variety of angles and that there is not always only one right answer. A few days ago, I was debating whether I should recommend starting a patient on enteral nutrition. My preceptor and I had a conversation about the pros and cons of initiating a tube feed and what that would look like for the patient. In the end, the RD trusted me to make the right decision and to contact the other members of the care team and make my recommendation. It is moments like that where I genuinely feel like I am growing in my confidence as an intern and my decision-making abilities in the treatment of my patients.
All of my preceptors and the CNM have been working with me to create a variety of experiences based on my specific interests. I have requested various rotations to broaden my scope of learning and truly challenge myself in a variety of areas. Over the next month, I will get to spend time in pediatrics at Oishei Children's Hospital, the CF unit, in the bariatric clinic, and coming up soon I will get to observe a gastric bypass surgery! All of these experiences will teach me different skills that I will carry into my professional career, and I am so excited!
One of my favorite parts is talking with the dietitians about treatment options for patients and learning their thought process behind decisions vs. mine. It has helped me learn how to look at the approach to treatment from a variety of angles and that there is not always only one right answer. A few days ago, I was debating whether I should recommend starting a patient on enteral nutrition. My preceptor and I had a conversation about the pros and cons of initiating a tube feed and what that would look like for the patient. In the end, the RD trusted me to make the right decision and to contact the other members of the care team and make my recommendation. It is moments like that where I genuinely feel like I am growing in my confidence as an intern and my decision-making abilities in the treatment of my patients.
All of my preceptors and the CNM have been working with me to create a variety of experiences based on my specific interests. I have requested various rotations to broaden my scope of learning and truly challenge myself in a variety of areas. Over the next month, I will get to spend time in pediatrics at Oishei Children's Hospital, the CF unit, in the bariatric clinic, and coming up soon I will get to observe a gastric bypass surgery! All of these experiences will teach me different skills that I will carry into my professional career, and I am so excited!
