Hello everyone! My name is Jenna Deak. I’m from region 5 and reside in Baltimore, MD. I have recently completed my food service management rotation and I’m in my last week of my patient service management rotation at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. All of the management and employees at this facility have been so friendly, helpful, and amazing to work with.
During my food service rotation, my preceptor, the executive chef, taught me how to conduct inventory, place orders, develop menus, manage a budget, and supervise and lead a team. As I reflect on my experience thus far, not only have I learned these food service management skills, but I have also learned to be more of a leader, comfortable taking risks, and confident in adapting to new experiences. I used the skills I gained to market and generate sales for my retail marketing and wellness project. For this project, I created a Halloween themed lunch with an innovative meal and provided nutrition information to customers by walking around the cafeteria at peak hours and handing out pamphlets. In order to prepare for the lunch, I created a menu, ordered food within my hospital’s budget, posted flyers around the cafeteria, and provided decorations that coordinated with my event. This has been my favorite project thus far because I was able to use the skills I learned alongside my creativity to completely conduct the vision I saw for this event and teach customers about the nutrition.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the food service rotation as much as I did. I will carry these skills I’ve gained thus far with me through the remainder of my internship and my career that follows to succeed in my future career as a Registered Dietitian. I look forward to continuing my rotations at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where I will also be doing my clinical rotations at the hospital’s inpatient units, and working with the lactation consultant and pediatric dietitian for my leadership concentration in the NICU and PICU. I am so happy to be a part of Sodexo’s dietetic internship; I would recommend this program to everyone. I'm eager to continue the rest of my journey as a dietetic intern and soon-to-be registered dietitian!
During my food service rotation, my preceptor, the executive chef, taught me how to conduct inventory, place orders, develop menus, manage a budget, and supervise and lead a team. As I reflect on my experience thus far, not only have I learned these food service management skills, but I have also learned to be more of a leader, comfortable taking risks, and confident in adapting to new experiences. I used the skills I gained to market and generate sales for my retail marketing and wellness project. For this project, I created a Halloween themed lunch with an innovative meal and provided nutrition information to customers by walking around the cafeteria at peak hours and handing out pamphlets. In order to prepare for the lunch, I created a menu, ordered food within my hospital’s budget, posted flyers around the cafeteria, and provided decorations that coordinated with my event. This has been my favorite project thus far because I was able to use the skills I learned alongside my creativity to completely conduct the vision I saw for this event and teach customers about the nutrition.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the food service rotation as much as I did. I will carry these skills I’ve gained thus far with me through the remainder of my internship and my career that follows to succeed in my future career as a Registered Dietitian. I look forward to continuing my rotations at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where I will also be doing my clinical rotations at the hospital’s inpatient units, and working with the lactation consultant and pediatric dietitian for my leadership concentration in the NICU and PICU. I am so happy to be a part of Sodexo’s dietetic internship; I would recommend this program to everyone. I'm eager to continue the rest of my journey as a dietetic intern and soon-to-be registered dietitian!
