Hey everyone! My name is Claire Merva and I am a Sodexo Dietetic Intern at the New York campus with a concentration in Senior Living. Time seems to have gone by fast as I finish up my intermediate clinical rotation at Kings County Hospital.
Kings County Hospital has been an amazing site to complete my clinical rotations because of the diverse patient population and complex cases in a public healthcare setting. During my intermediate clinical rotation, I have gained a lot of experience writing assessments for patients with cancer and those that need nutrition support. I have encountered a variety of cancer types and treatments, which has allowed me to provide different nutrition education and treatments to each patient. I have learned that cancer treatment affects everyone differently and the varying side effects of chemo and radiation therapy can cause different nutrition-related problems. The varying problems have allowed me to become more creative in my advice for patients. Also, I have been gaining more experience in the intensive care units (ICU) and those particular units have been my favorite so far. The patients are more complex with multiple diseases and complications; therefore, nutrition support is needed especially in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients. The ICU has allowed me to develop my skills in choosing enteral formulas and calculating enteral feeds so patients meet their estimated nutritional needs. Dietitians play a vital role in the ICU because adequate nutrition is essential for patients to heal and have a shorter length of stay in the hospital.
Kings County Hospital also has a wide array of outpatient services that I was able to experience during my clinical rotations. Recently, I was able to shadow an outpatient dietitian at the hospital's HIV/AIDS clinic, the Center for Hope. I was able to learn so much about the history of HIV treatment and how it has changed dramatically since the center’s creation in 1985. Patients with HIV are no longer experiencing malnutrition symptoms such as wasting if they are compliant with their medications. The dietitian educates patients on the side effects of the medications such as high triglycerides and cholesterol. However, many of the current medications are without side effects. Many of the patients I saw during my visit only needed nutrition counseling on other chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The clinic’s dietitian hosts fairs such as National World AIDS day and does community outreach to educate about HIV prevention and management. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to visit this type of clinic because I never knew that HIV would be applicable in an outpatient setting. I am excited to see more of the outpatient services that the hospital offers and how dietitians can play an important role in the community.
Kings County Hospital has been an amazing site to complete my clinical rotations because of the diverse patient population and complex cases in a public healthcare setting. During my intermediate clinical rotation, I have gained a lot of experience writing assessments for patients with cancer and those that need nutrition support. I have encountered a variety of cancer types and treatments, which has allowed me to provide different nutrition education and treatments to each patient. I have learned that cancer treatment affects everyone differently and the varying side effects of chemo and radiation therapy can cause different nutrition-related problems. The varying problems have allowed me to become more creative in my advice for patients. Also, I have been gaining more experience in the intensive care units (ICU) and those particular units have been my favorite so far. The patients are more complex with multiple diseases and complications; therefore, nutrition support is needed especially in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients. The ICU has allowed me to develop my skills in choosing enteral formulas and calculating enteral feeds so patients meet their estimated nutritional needs. Dietitians play a vital role in the ICU because adequate nutrition is essential for patients to heal and have a shorter length of stay in the hospital.
Kings County Hospital also has a wide array of outpatient services that I was able to experience during my clinical rotations. Recently, I was able to shadow an outpatient dietitian at the hospital's HIV/AIDS clinic, the Center for Hope. I was able to learn so much about the history of HIV treatment and how it has changed dramatically since the center’s creation in 1985. Patients with HIV are no longer experiencing malnutrition symptoms such as wasting if they are compliant with their medications. The dietitian educates patients on the side effects of the medications such as high triglycerides and cholesterol. However, many of the current medications are without side effects. Many of the patients I saw during my visit only needed nutrition counseling on other chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The clinic’s dietitian hosts fairs such as National World AIDS day and does community outreach to educate about HIV prevention and management. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to visit this type of clinic because I never knew that HIV would be applicable in an outpatient setting. I am excited to see more of the outpatient services that the hospital offers and how dietitians can play an important role in the community.
