I am Joe Stanzione and I am an intern for the Sodexo New York campus. My concentration is medical nutrition therapy, and I have spent a majority of my time at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, NJ. Right now, I am in my advanced clinical rotation and am spending most of my hours in the medical and surgical ICU. Thus far, this has been my favorite rotation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience because the clinical dietitian is so involved in the care of patients on a day-to-day basis. In addition to this, the health care team, consisting of the MDs, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists, and dietitians are on a constant line of communication. It is so rewarding to see such a comprehensive level of care that is grounded with the best needs of each patient in mind. Every morning I get to participate in rounds, where we go through each patient and discuss their treatment moving forward. During this interaction I can really observe and see how essential the role of the dietitian is. I have even been involved in the discussion, if it happened to be a patient I was familiar with. Not only do we have a crucial role, but the health care team is constantly seeking the advice of dietitian in order to improve the quality of care for their patients. I have noticed that the dietitian’s role is really appreciated by the other members of the team. So far my experience has been enlightening and challenging and I am excited to find out what the rest of the internship has in store for me.
