Hi everyone! My name is Andrew Payne and I am an intern from region 11. I am a little over a month into my internship and time really does fly when you’re keeping busy and learning a lot. The experience so far has been great and just diving into the rotations has been a real confidence booster. It has also opened my eyes to career opportunities that I may want to pursue after the internship is over. I still have many more rotations and I’m ready to learn and grow from them as much as I can.
When I first started my rotation, which was in food service management, it was a little overwhelming. My brain was in a million different places thinking about things like projects, competencies, the new environment, and all the new people I just met. Once I took a deep breath, found my rhythm, and got comfortable, everything fell into place. It also helped that my preceptor and the entire crew at Lutheran Medical Center were incredibly welcoming and friendly. It almost felt like I had known the staff for years, which really made my rotation that much less stressful. I have worked in the hospital food service setting for over three years and have worked positions from cashier, coffee shop barista, trayline/trayrunner and diet tech positions. I didn’t think that I would get too much out of the food service rotation but I was wrong. I was pretty unaware of all the hard work that the management side does to keep the food and nutrition department running smoothly. During this rotation I worked so many different positions and it really does amaze me how all the different parts of food service come together and function as one cohesive unit.
Currently, I am at a bariatric center working with the outpatient dietitians. It is shocking how much they have had to adapt during Covid. They went from meeting all their patients personally, to just about everything being virtual or over the phone. I can tell that it has become more challenging especially dealing with weight loss patients where compliance is key and not seeing them face to face really affects that. Just from the little outpatient experience that I’ve had, it is an area that I am realizing that I really enjoy. Overall, I am really enjoying the journey of the internship and am looking forward to all the new experiences to come.
When I first started my rotation, which was in food service management, it was a little overwhelming. My brain was in a million different places thinking about things like projects, competencies, the new environment, and all the new people I just met. Once I took a deep breath, found my rhythm, and got comfortable, everything fell into place. It also helped that my preceptor and the entire crew at Lutheran Medical Center were incredibly welcoming and friendly. It almost felt like I had known the staff for years, which really made my rotation that much less stressful. I have worked in the hospital food service setting for over three years and have worked positions from cashier, coffee shop barista, trayline/trayrunner and diet tech positions. I didn’t think that I would get too much out of the food service rotation but I was wrong. I was pretty unaware of all the hard work that the management side does to keep the food and nutrition department running smoothly. During this rotation I worked so many different positions and it really does amaze me how all the different parts of food service come together and function as one cohesive unit.
Currently, I am at a bariatric center working with the outpatient dietitians. It is shocking how much they have had to adapt during Covid. They went from meeting all their patients personally, to just about everything being virtual or over the phone. I can tell that it has become more challenging especially dealing with weight loss patients where compliance is key and not seeing them face to face really affects that. Just from the little outpatient experience that I’ve had, it is an area that I am realizing that I really enjoy. Overall, I am really enjoying the journey of the internship and am looking forward to all the new experiences to come.
