Hello, my name is Debbie and I’m an intern with Sodexo’s New York campus. I am currently in my last 2 weeks of my advanced clinical rotation at HackensackUMC Mountainside in Montclair, NJ. This week, I had the opportunity to reflect on how much I’ve grown in the past few months since I started as I watched another Sodexo intern complete her first day.
I clearly remember the first few days (okay- weeks) when I came in completely nervous, unsure of which direction to go in the hallway and mispronouncing every medical term I came across. After my first week, I swore clinical dietetics was not my thing. However, as my rotation comes to an end, medical terms are part of my daily vocabulary, ever-changing lab values fascinate me and I love getting to follow up with patients.
Some advice I have for future interns is to make the most of each rotation, especially if it’s something that isn’t your favorite area. Each rotation is a valuable learning experience, so figure out what you want to know more about and pursue it! Some opportunities I’ve enjoyed so far are observing the speech language pathologists and watching a modified barium swallow exam and participating in a cooking demo for the cardiac rehab patients making mashed cauliflower. Also, not for the faint of heart, I shadowed a wound care nurse and saw different stages of pressure injuries. These opportunities have only aided me as I strive to understand each patient’s complex and unique nutritional needs and disease states.
I can admit, I still go down the wrong hallway at times, but my confidence level has improved tremendously. Just today I saw patients who were on parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition in the ICU, and on hemodialysis treatments. When I first started, I could never predict that I would be able to approach these types of patients. I look forward to the many more invaluable learning experiences I will get during this internship!
I clearly remember the first few days (okay- weeks) when I came in completely nervous, unsure of which direction to go in the hallway and mispronouncing every medical term I came across. After my first week, I swore clinical dietetics was not my thing. However, as my rotation comes to an end, medical terms are part of my daily vocabulary, ever-changing lab values fascinate me and I love getting to follow up with patients.
Some advice I have for future interns is to make the most of each rotation, especially if it’s something that isn’t your favorite area. Each rotation is a valuable learning experience, so figure out what you want to know more about and pursue it! Some opportunities I’ve enjoyed so far are observing the speech language pathologists and watching a modified barium swallow exam and participating in a cooking demo for the cardiac rehab patients making mashed cauliflower. Also, not for the faint of heart, I shadowed a wound care nurse and saw different stages of pressure injuries. These opportunities have only aided me as I strive to understand each patient’s complex and unique nutritional needs and disease states.
I can admit, I still go down the wrong hallway at times, but my confidence level has improved tremendously. Just today I saw patients who were on parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition in the ICU, and on hemodialysis treatments. When I first started, I could never predict that I would be able to approach these types of patients. I look forward to the many more invaluable learning experiences I will get during this internship!
