Hello everyone! My name is Christine Valente and I am a Sodexo Intern from the Philadelphia Campus. I am currently completing the concentration portion of the internship. With my concentration being wellness, I have really had a lot of freedom to choose where I complete my hours and that is something I looked forward to. The realm of wellness is so broad that the possibilities for rotation sites were endless. So far I have worked with a bariatric dietitian, an outpatient dietitian, and a dietitian in a fitness center. I also plan to work with a private practice dietitian who specializes in eating disorders soon!
I have had many great experiences so far including getting to go into the OR and see a bariatric surgery, design and create educational materials for a dialysis center, and participate in the one-on-one counseling that occurs in the outpatient setting. The picture that goes along with my post is me standing in front of a bilingual informational poster I created while working with a renal dietitian in a dialysis center where the majority of the population speaks Spanish. Being able to watch the patients interact with my board and the smiles on their faces when they saw it was made to be easily understood by all patients in the center absolutely made my days there even better.
The best part of being presented with so many opportunities during this internship is the ability to truly find what interests you by seeing it firsthand. A few weeks into my concentration rotations, I realized I had a huge interest in bariatric dietetics, which I never would have expected! I came to love the education sessions, the support groups, the patients, the surgeons and the work environment. Having these opportunities available has also made me appreciate the experience I have gained in the areas that I have less interest in. Although I realized some areas were not the right ones for me to pursue a career in, I truly enjoyed watching the dietitians in those fields love the work they did and the passion they had for their specialties.
Being a Sodexo dietetic intern has allowed me to find my areas of interest, the confidence to pursue my future career as a dietitian, and the excitement for the experiences ahead!
I have had many great experiences so far including getting to go into the OR and see a bariatric surgery, design and create educational materials for a dialysis center, and participate in the one-on-one counseling that occurs in the outpatient setting. The picture that goes along with my post is me standing in front of a bilingual informational poster I created while working with a renal dietitian in a dialysis center where the majority of the population speaks Spanish. Being able to watch the patients interact with my board and the smiles on their faces when they saw it was made to be easily understood by all patients in the center absolutely made my days there even better.
The best part of being presented with so many opportunities during this internship is the ability to truly find what interests you by seeing it firsthand. A few weeks into my concentration rotations, I realized I had a huge interest in bariatric dietetics, which I never would have expected! I came to love the education sessions, the support groups, the patients, the surgeons and the work environment. Having these opportunities available has also made me appreciate the experience I have gained in the areas that I have less interest in. Although I realized some areas were not the right ones for me to pursue a career in, I truly enjoyed watching the dietitians in those fields love the work they did and the passion they had for their specialties.
Being a Sodexo dietetic intern has allowed me to find my areas of interest, the confidence to pursue my future career as a dietitian, and the excitement for the experiences ahead!
