Hi all! My name is Christine and I am a region 12 intern based out of San Diego, California. I started my internship in February 2020, and I am also on the MS track with the University of Rhode Island. I am beyond grateful to be a part of the Sodexo Dietetic Internship. This past January I had the pleasure of attending orientation in Orlando where I got to know the fellow interns in my cohort as well as the team of internship directors, and I returned home feeling much more prepared to start my internship.
My first rotation was in Long-Term Care at a 208-bed skilled nursing facility, which I absolutely loved. I attended daily stand-up meetings as well as weight and wound team meetings, took part in the RD’s daily rounds visiting residents, and participated in care conferences together with various interdisciplinary team members to provide nutrition-related updates to residents and their family. I conducted nutrition assessments, planned interventions, monitored the effectiveness of interventions, and got a lot of practice charting in the EMR. I also familiarized myself with the Minimum Data Set (MDS) which is a health screening and assessment tool used for all LTC residents and needed in order for the facility to get Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. This rotation completely exceeded my expectations. My preceptor was phenomenal, she taught me so much and allowed me to experience first-hand how the RD plays a vital leadership role in enhancing the quality of life of residents in long-term care.
I then started my community rotation at the San Diego Food Bank. However, this rotation ended early due to COVID-19. At this time, I also received news that other rotations have been postponed as well. Fortunately, Sodexo has provided us interns with ongoing support and an abundance of innovative alternate practice experiences during this extraordinary time so we can continue to move forward in our internships.
I have the unique opportunity to tailor a part of my internship to my future goals and the area of dietetics I am deeply passionate about. The leadership concentration has allowed me to design a rotation with a focus on the RD’s role in eating disorder treatment and explore my own leadership potential along the way. With my work over the years as a diet tech in the eating disorder treatment setting, I discovered my true passion to help those with eating disorders heal their relationship with food and their bodies, and I plan to specialize in eating disorders as an RD. I am so thankful to be able to personalize this piece of my internship to align with my career path.
One tip for future interns: get comfortable with being uncomfortable. More likely than not you are bound to encounter a lot of situations out of your comfort zone. Instead of avoiding it, embrace it because this is where you can experience tremendous personal and professional growth. Enjoy the process and get everything you can out of it!
My first rotation was in Long-Term Care at a 208-bed skilled nursing facility, which I absolutely loved. I attended daily stand-up meetings as well as weight and wound team meetings, took part in the RD’s daily rounds visiting residents, and participated in care conferences together with various interdisciplinary team members to provide nutrition-related updates to residents and their family. I conducted nutrition assessments, planned interventions, monitored the effectiveness of interventions, and got a lot of practice charting in the EMR. I also familiarized myself with the Minimum Data Set (MDS) which is a health screening and assessment tool used for all LTC residents and needed in order for the facility to get Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. This rotation completely exceeded my expectations. My preceptor was phenomenal, she taught me so much and allowed me to experience first-hand how the RD plays a vital leadership role in enhancing the quality of life of residents in long-term care.
I then started my community rotation at the San Diego Food Bank. However, this rotation ended early due to COVID-19. At this time, I also received news that other rotations have been postponed as well. Fortunately, Sodexo has provided us interns with ongoing support and an abundance of innovative alternate practice experiences during this extraordinary time so we can continue to move forward in our internships.
I have the unique opportunity to tailor a part of my internship to my future goals and the area of dietetics I am deeply passionate about. The leadership concentration has allowed me to design a rotation with a focus on the RD’s role in eating disorder treatment and explore my own leadership potential along the way. With my work over the years as a diet tech in the eating disorder treatment setting, I discovered my true passion to help those with eating disorders heal their relationship with food and their bodies, and I plan to specialize in eating disorders as an RD. I am so thankful to be able to personalize this piece of my internship to align with my career path.
One tip for future interns: get comfortable with being uncomfortable. More likely than not you are bound to encounter a lot of situations out of your comfort zone. Instead of avoiding it, embrace it because this is where you can experience tremendous personal and professional growth. Enjoy the process and get everything you can out of it!
