Hi again! It’s Maggie Hanna, Sodexo Dietetic Intern Allentown Campus, and in just one more month I will be done with my Clinical Rotations as well as my whole internship! It has really been a wild ride. I have done a mixture of everything from culinary classes to cardiac rehab education. I have had my fair share of dietary experiences, especially in the clinical setting. Although I am a culinary concentration, I was exposed to an array of specialty areas within dietetics. I spent a lot of time at an HIV and AIDS Activity Office, various rehabilitation centers, pediatric and endocrinology offices, oncology centers, weight management and bariatric centers, diabetes education classes, and more.
I also had the opportunity to assist in coordinating and helping to market National Nutrition Month at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) by sponsoring an Iron Chef competition between two different chefs at two of the different hospitals within LVHN. I was thrilled to help with this event because it emerged both the culinary and clinical realms of dietetics. During this event various hospital staff, patients, and visitors sampled two different salads, a Kale Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing, and a Mediterranean Fig Salad with Toasted Farro and Goat Cheese. Both salads had amazing flavors. Throughout this event I was able to make people more aware of the role Registered Dietitians have in a clinical setting as well as in a culinary/food service setting.
Having gone through basic, intermediate, and advanced clinical rotations, I feel prepared to go into my staff relief portion of the internship. During this segment, I will be seeing 8-10 patients a day, and solely relying on what I have learned throughout my clinical rotations. Initially, I was very scared going into clinicals because I feel it is out of my realm as a culinary-based intern, but as I spent more time with the various RD’s I learned that everyone has their own style of writing notes and gathering information. I am so grateful for this opportunity because I never felt I would like my clinical rotation, but now that I can see the various specialties and concentrations, I feel hopeful to find my niche and somehow incorporate a culinary element as well.
I also had the opportunity to assist in coordinating and helping to market National Nutrition Month at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) by sponsoring an Iron Chef competition between two different chefs at two of the different hospitals within LVHN. I was thrilled to help with this event because it emerged both the culinary and clinical realms of dietetics. During this event various hospital staff, patients, and visitors sampled two different salads, a Kale Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing, and a Mediterranean Fig Salad with Toasted Farro and Goat Cheese. Both salads had amazing flavors. Throughout this event I was able to make people more aware of the role Registered Dietitians have in a clinical setting as well as in a culinary/food service setting.
Having gone through basic, intermediate, and advanced clinical rotations, I feel prepared to go into my staff relief portion of the internship. During this segment, I will be seeing 8-10 patients a day, and solely relying on what I have learned throughout my clinical rotations. Initially, I was very scared going into clinicals because I feel it is out of my realm as a culinary-based intern, but as I spent more time with the various RD’s I learned that everyone has their own style of writing notes and gathering information. I am so grateful for this opportunity because I never felt I would like my clinical rotation, but now that I can see the various specialties and concentrations, I feel hopeful to find my niche and somehow incorporate a culinary element as well.
