Hi everyone! My name is Ana Veloso and I am in Region 4. I began my internship journey at Capital Health, a moderately sized hospital system with two campuses. One campus is located in Pennington, NJ (Hopewell Campus) and the other campus is located in Trenton, NJ (Regional Campus). During my first week, I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with a fellow intern, Erica. We discussed how nervous we were during our lunch breaks, how we kept getting lost in the hospital, and how fast things were changing. Fast forward to today, I just completed my first week of the intermediate clinical rotation.
My experiences with clinical nutrition have been surprising, to say the least. I never imagined I would enjoy nutrition in the context of a fast paced, clinical setting. I love the counseling part of nutrition, and that is what originally drew me to the field. I enjoy making a connection with others by getting to know them on a deeper level and empowering them to reach their goals. And this rarely happens in a clinical setting. In acute care, food is rarely the patient’s top priority. I have encountered patients who were emotionally distressed and refused medical care. Other patients had altered mental status and could not verbalize their needs, much less comprehend the questions that compose a nutrition assessment. Most often, patients are apathetic to the brief nutrition counseling we provide. However, I have also met patients who desire so much to get better that they listen intently and ask for more information. And these are the patients who give me energy and brighten up my day.
Today, I see less of Erica as we typically change between campuses. We still share our experiences and reassure each other when we are in doubt. We have our favorite preceptor and the one that we are both extra nervous around. There is so much I have learned in the past couple of months and I am extremely grateful for the experience and knowledge my preceptors have shared with me.
My experiences with clinical nutrition have been surprising, to say the least. I never imagined I would enjoy nutrition in the context of a fast paced, clinical setting. I love the counseling part of nutrition, and that is what originally drew me to the field. I enjoy making a connection with others by getting to know them on a deeper level and empowering them to reach their goals. And this rarely happens in a clinical setting. In acute care, food is rarely the patient’s top priority. I have encountered patients who were emotionally distressed and refused medical care. Other patients had altered mental status and could not verbalize their needs, much less comprehend the questions that compose a nutrition assessment. Most often, patients are apathetic to the brief nutrition counseling we provide. However, I have also met patients who desire so much to get better that they listen intently and ask for more information. And these are the patients who give me energy and brighten up my day.
Today, I see less of Erica as we typically change between campuses. We still share our experiences and reassure each other when we are in doubt. We have our favorite preceptor and the one that we are both extra nervous around. There is so much I have learned in the past couple of months and I am extremely grateful for the experience and knowledge my preceptors have shared with me.
