Source: http://www.elderlynursing.com/foodpyramid.htm Hello everyone! My name is Heidi Olson and I am a Sodexo dietetic intern in the Washington D.C/Baltimore campus. I am also doing the combined Master’s Program through the University of Rhode Island. I’m originally from Nashville, Tennessee and made the huge move to Baltimore in August! I completed my undergrad at the University of Kentucky and graduated in December 2015. My concentration for the internship is culinary because I love cooking and enjoy learning new techniques as well as how to modify foods for specific diets and disease states.
I am at Pickersgill Retirement Community in Towson, Maryland. I absolutely love working in the long-term care portion of the facility! It has been such a joy learning about the residents and their unique personalities. They’ve experienced so much and have wonderful stories to share. I’m currently at the end of intermediate clinical and will start my culinary concentration in January.
I came into the internship with a copious amount of experience in food service, but had not been exposed to a lot of clinical situations. The biggest thing I’ve learned about doing clinical rotations in a long-term care facility is how different the diet recommendations are. For example, we have residents with CKD and CHF but they don’t follow a strict diet like you would see in the hospital (fluid restriction, low potassium, phosphorus, sodium, or modified protein recommendations). This is to avoid complications with comorbidities and to ensure they don’t lose a lot of weight, which is very common in the elderly population.
When we provide diet educations, we stress that there is no reason to be afraid of food as it should still bring them nourishment and satiety. I sat in on an education with a resident who has diabetes, during which my preceptor told the resident to choose and eat the dessert she liked better between lunch and dinner. She emphasized that there is no reason to eliminate dessert, but to think about the amount of sugar she’s eating throughout the day. Most people know that the elderly population experiences challenges such as hearing and sight loss, but taste loss is another factor that can also impact their overall health and well-being. As a result, strict diets can be detrimental, so “smart eating” is the best way to educate this population!
For current interns, I hope you learned something from this post and will remember it during your LTC rotation. To those that are thinking of applying to this internship, I just want to say I highly recommend it. The directors of the various locations are extremely hard working and dedicated to making this the best experience for YOU. I always thought it was an intern’s job to make the internship work for them, but this program is dedicated to learning about personal interests and setting you up for the right path for your future career!
I am at Pickersgill Retirement Community in Towson, Maryland. I absolutely love working in the long-term care portion of the facility! It has been such a joy learning about the residents and their unique personalities. They’ve experienced so much and have wonderful stories to share. I’m currently at the end of intermediate clinical and will start my culinary concentration in January.
I came into the internship with a copious amount of experience in food service, but had not been exposed to a lot of clinical situations. The biggest thing I’ve learned about doing clinical rotations in a long-term care facility is how different the diet recommendations are. For example, we have residents with CKD and CHF but they don’t follow a strict diet like you would see in the hospital (fluid restriction, low potassium, phosphorus, sodium, or modified protein recommendations). This is to avoid complications with comorbidities and to ensure they don’t lose a lot of weight, which is very common in the elderly population.
When we provide diet educations, we stress that there is no reason to be afraid of food as it should still bring them nourishment and satiety. I sat in on an education with a resident who has diabetes, during which my preceptor told the resident to choose and eat the dessert she liked better between lunch and dinner. She emphasized that there is no reason to eliminate dessert, but to think about the amount of sugar she’s eating throughout the day. Most people know that the elderly population experiences challenges such as hearing and sight loss, but taste loss is another factor that can also impact their overall health and well-being. As a result, strict diets can be detrimental, so “smart eating” is the best way to educate this population!
For current interns, I hope you learned something from this post and will remember it during your LTC rotation. To those that are thinking of applying to this internship, I just want to say I highly recommend it. The directors of the various locations are extremely hard working and dedicated to making this the best experience for YOU. I always thought it was an intern’s job to make the internship work for them, but this program is dedicated to learning about personal interests and setting you up for the right path for your future career!
