Hi Everyone! My name is Kelsey McCrossin, and I am currently part of the Sodexo distance internship. I am in my advanced clinical rotation in Leominster, Massachusetts, and I have to say… I LOVE it! Going into the internship, I was quite nervous about clinical rotations. However, working side by side with experienced dietitians has made the transition great. Leominster Hospital is a smaller community hospital, which gives me the opportunity to gain relationship and rapport with the interdisciplinary teams. I had the privilege of being in the “hot seat” for CCU rounds; we discussed critically ill patients’ plan of care with each discipline. It was an open forum discussion where we presented our recommendations for their current conditions. This enabled to me follow a patient from admission to post peg-tube placement and calculating tube feeding recommendations. It was incredible to visibly see the change nutrient status can have on a patient’s quality of life! Having these hands-on experiences will only help connect the knowledge we learned in school to becoming and active RD.
During clinical rotations, I had the opportunity to participate in health fairs throughout the community. We presented with a smoothie bike to a middle-school health fair, promoting “Increasing Fruits and Vegetables in Your Diet.” However, the eye-opening experience wasn’t the topic; it was the number of children that did not know how to ride a bike. Being from Philadelphia, it is a rite of passage growing up to know how to ride a bike. When planning demonstrations and assignments, we are taught to know the audience. However, I assumed that middle school kids would love the smoothie bike-- I generalized the audience. As an RD, it is important to know your audience, and it cannot always be a one size fits all. Not even in demonstrations. This experience will help me during my community rotation presentation to be aware of my audience.
All the experiences Sodexo Dietetic Internships has to offer will prepare you to become a successful RD. I cannot stress enough: do not be afraid to voice your thoughts or questions during your rotations; it can extremely helpful! The trust and encouragement I felt from my preceptors has helped me become successful thus far!
During clinical rotations, I had the opportunity to participate in health fairs throughout the community. We presented with a smoothie bike to a middle-school health fair, promoting “Increasing Fruits and Vegetables in Your Diet.” However, the eye-opening experience wasn’t the topic; it was the number of children that did not know how to ride a bike. Being from Philadelphia, it is a rite of passage growing up to know how to ride a bike. When planning demonstrations and assignments, we are taught to know the audience. However, I assumed that middle school kids would love the smoothie bike-- I generalized the audience. As an RD, it is important to know your audience, and it cannot always be a one size fits all. Not even in demonstrations. This experience will help me during my community rotation presentation to be aware of my audience.
All the experiences Sodexo Dietetic Internships has to offer will prepare you to become a successful RD. I cannot stress enough: do not be afraid to voice your thoughts or questions during your rotations; it can extremely helpful! The trust and encouragement I felt from my preceptors has helped me become successful thus far!
