Hello, my name is Joanne Dorgilus, a region 2 Intern based in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, I am completing my community rotation at different sites in my community. Before community, I was finishing up my clinical rotation. It was bittersweet to be done with my clinical rotation because it was extremely challenging for me. However, it was rewarding. I struggled a lot; I even wanted to quit multiple times because I felt like I was not getting the material. Even though the assignment is there to help us with the clinical rotation, I realize we need to know how to apply what we learned. What I learned during my clinical rotation is that even though your knowledge of the material is essential, you have to do what is best for the patient. You will counsel many patients from different backgrounds, disease states, and socioeconomic situations. As a dietitian, you will have to use your clinical judgment to be able to help the patient. With that being said, when interviewing a patient, I got to know them a little bit so that they could be comfortable with me; this allowed them to listen to my recommendation and a willingness to learn more about nutrition.
When I started my clinical rotation, I was only able to see 3-4 patients at a time, and it also took me forever to write my notes. As time went on, I was able to see 8-10 patients a day; I say all this to say it might be hard in the beginning, but as time goes on, you start to find your own pace when seeing patients. I enjoyed ICU because I worked closely with the interdisciplinary team, did a lot of TPN, and with ICU, it’s a lot of critical thinking. For example, in ICU, you have to pay attention to everything in the patient records to see the leading cause of the patient being in ICU.
Before starting the Internship, I ran my own business called Mother Nutritive. As a doula, I supported women during and before pregnancy while also counseling them in nutrition. I must say completing my clinical nutrition, my knowledge of nutrition has increased. We learn a lot in school but being in the hospital is a different learning curve. I learned many things that I didn’t learn in school during my clinical rotation. However, everything I learned gave me the confidence to counsel my clients in my business and be a well-rounded future RDN.
The advice I would leave you with is STUDY STUDY STUDY before each rotation, complete your assignments ahead of time, and do not wait last min. Trust me, I waited last min, and it hurt me in the end. Also, take lots of notes during the rotation, because you could also go back to them when writing your notes. Our advisors are there to help us, so don’t be afraid to meet with them when you are overwhelmed, I schedule meetings with my advisor frequently, which was beneficial. Lastly, always ask questions; our preceptors are there to help us be good RDNs. Finally, remember to rest, do not overwork yourself, and stay confident throughout the internship; it might get hard, but you GOT THIS!
When I started my clinical rotation, I was only able to see 3-4 patients at a time, and it also took me forever to write my notes. As time went on, I was able to see 8-10 patients a day; I say all this to say it might be hard in the beginning, but as time goes on, you start to find your own pace when seeing patients. I enjoyed ICU because I worked closely with the interdisciplinary team, did a lot of TPN, and with ICU, it’s a lot of critical thinking. For example, in ICU, you have to pay attention to everything in the patient records to see the leading cause of the patient being in ICU.
Before starting the Internship, I ran my own business called Mother Nutritive. As a doula, I supported women during and before pregnancy while also counseling them in nutrition. I must say completing my clinical nutrition, my knowledge of nutrition has increased. We learn a lot in school but being in the hospital is a different learning curve. I learned many things that I didn’t learn in school during my clinical rotation. However, everything I learned gave me the confidence to counsel my clients in my business and be a well-rounded future RDN.
The advice I would leave you with is STUDY STUDY STUDY before each rotation, complete your assignments ahead of time, and do not wait last min. Trust me, I waited last min, and it hurt me in the end. Also, take lots of notes during the rotation, because you could also go back to them when writing your notes. Our advisors are there to help us, so don’t be afraid to meet with them when you are overwhelmed, I schedule meetings with my advisor frequently, which was beneficial. Lastly, always ask questions; our preceptors are there to help us be good RDNs. Finally, remember to rest, do not overwork yourself, and stay confident throughout the internship; it might get hard, but you GOT THIS!
