Hello everyone! My name is Hayley Miller and I am a Region 7 (FL) intern. I am currently in my food service management rotation at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. I just finished my clinical rotations! To be honest, I was quite nervous to begin my clinical rotation; prior to starting the internship I had experience in most areas other than clinical. Additionally, I was originally supposed to start my rotation with food service management and then clinical, but on my first day my preceptor informed me I would actually be starting clinical. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. However, my nerves quickly grew to excitement and eagerness to learn. I never expected to love clinical as much I do!
During my clinical rotation, I participated in daily interdisciplinary rounding in both the med/surg floor and ICU. I have been able to learn from other clinicians which has helped me grow and further develop me knowledge and skills. My favorite part of clinical is providing nutrition education to patients with newly diagnosed diseases, I have noticed that these patients can be overwhelmed, so providing them with achievable nutrition strategies is essential. We also have a high prevalence of malnutrition at my facility. My undergraduate program briefly touched on malnutrition, so I am grateful that during Sodexo’s orientation we went over how to perform a nutrition focused physical exam. I have a lot of autonomy at my facility and I am now well versed in performing the nutrition focused physical as well as documenting it.
So far during my food service management rotation, I have created specific menus for certain diets such as diabetic, renal, low-fat, and GI soft, and I have created a handout with tube feed substitutions in case we are ever temporarily out of stock of a formula. I will also be assisting the patient service manager and clinical nutrition manager with developing a temporary kitchen menu for a mobile kitchen when the kitchen at our sister hospital gets re-done.
My advice to future interns is to be open-minded to new and all experiences! I encourage you to ask questions and engage with the rest of the interdisciplinary teams. I am learning something new every day and genuinely loving my experience thus far. I am excited to complete the rest of my rotations and continue to grow my knowledge and experience of the field!
During my clinical rotation, I participated in daily interdisciplinary rounding in both the med/surg floor and ICU. I have been able to learn from other clinicians which has helped me grow and further develop me knowledge and skills. My favorite part of clinical is providing nutrition education to patients with newly diagnosed diseases, I have noticed that these patients can be overwhelmed, so providing them with achievable nutrition strategies is essential. We also have a high prevalence of malnutrition at my facility. My undergraduate program briefly touched on malnutrition, so I am grateful that during Sodexo’s orientation we went over how to perform a nutrition focused physical exam. I have a lot of autonomy at my facility and I am now well versed in performing the nutrition focused physical as well as documenting it.
So far during my food service management rotation, I have created specific menus for certain diets such as diabetic, renal, low-fat, and GI soft, and I have created a handout with tube feed substitutions in case we are ever temporarily out of stock of a formula. I will also be assisting the patient service manager and clinical nutrition manager with developing a temporary kitchen menu for a mobile kitchen when the kitchen at our sister hospital gets re-done.
My advice to future interns is to be open-minded to new and all experiences! I encourage you to ask questions and engage with the rest of the interdisciplinary teams. I am learning something new every day and genuinely loving my experience thus far. I am excited to complete the rest of my rotations and continue to grow my knowledge and experience of the field!
