Hello everyone! My name is Hannah Koester and I am a region 12 Sodexo dietetic intern. After orientation in Denver, I moved 2 hours north of San Diego to a small town called Hemet. Clinical was my first rotation of the internship. In the beginning, I was nervous, excited, and overwhelmed. There was a little bit of a learning curve to this new lifestyle. I had to readjust to a new living situation and create a new routine with the internship.
Within the first week, all my clinical fears were instantly put at ease. I was able to get my feet wet at the hospital with patient services prior to basic clinical, so I knew how the kitchen ran, met the staff, and mastered the hospital layout. I was also fortunate enough to work with another intern that was finishing her rotations and was on her way out. I was able to learn from her and put my fears at ease. Now, I’m over half way through my clinical nutrition rotation and I’ve found most of my worries were for nothing.
If you find yourself anxious or worried about clinical, here’s some pointers I would like you to remember.
Within the first week, all my clinical fears were instantly put at ease. I was able to get my feet wet at the hospital with patient services prior to basic clinical, so I knew how the kitchen ran, met the staff, and mastered the hospital layout. I was also fortunate enough to work with another intern that was finishing her rotations and was on her way out. I was able to learn from her and put my fears at ease. Now, I’m over half way through my clinical nutrition rotation and I’ve found most of my worries were for nothing.
If you find yourself anxious or worried about clinical, here’s some pointers I would like you to remember.
- You will be given what you CAN handle: You will only start out with a few patients. I started by seeing 1-2 patients a day. This gave me ample time to research, calculate needs, and possibly give nutrition education if the patient was appropriate and wanted it.
- Say “Yes” to new opportunities: There may be extra opportunities offered to you by the hospital. It may mean extra work, but it also means more experience and possibly hours to count towards other rotations, such as community. I was fortunate to team up with another intern and create a booth on diabetes education for a middle school health fair. It was a good opportunity to connect with locals and promote healthy eating to adults and children as well as exercising/improving my teaching ability. Embrace unplanned opportunities.
- Use your resources: If you feel uncomfortable, ask to observe or for help. You are there to learn. You’re not expected to know everything. Use facility, Sodexo, and past school resources. Don’t just lean on the dietitians, ask other clinicians questions, if appropriate. Which leads me to the next tip..
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable: You will be wrong at times. You will exercise new techniques and put stuff into practice you have never done before. You will get better every time you push yourself out of your comfort zone. Do things that scare you.
- You will never be alone: If you have any questions or concerns, there will always be a team of dietitians there to support you. Even during that terrifying staff relief rotation, there will always be help. Though, by the time you get to staff relief, you won’t even recognize yourself because you will have already grown so much as a nutrition professional.
