My name is Pam Harrison and I am a region 4 intern currently completing my LTC rotation at a senior living community. If you had told me in my undergraduate college career that I would be concentrating in senior living during my dietetic internship, I wouldn’t have believed you! I always enjoyed learning in medial nutrition therapy, but I never would have thought that this area of dietetics would excite me like it has during my internship. While in this rotation, I have learned that caring for the elderly population is very different in a skilled nursing facility/LTC than what I had experienced while working before my internship as a dietary aide in the hospital.
During my DPD program, I learned about the different diseases and their nutritional implications, however, in the senior population I learned that resident preferences frequently take precedent! I am so interested in this area because I feel that dietitians play a huge role in finding the balance between providing evidenced-based care for residents’ health conditions and providing them the best quality of life. I have enjoyed being a part of care plan meetings, where I am able to hear of residents’ medical histories and see the dietitian’s recommendations actually making a difference in resident lives.
One of my favorite experiences from this site is that I have been able to diagnose protein-calorie malnutrition through performing nutrition focused physical exams and the use of a dynamometer. I have been able to educate the residents and their families on a dynamometer tool and how the data it provides helps me understand the nutrition status of the resident. I feel empowered using the dynamometer while performing the nutrition focused physical exam with the residents, because it shows them that I have an important role in their care and I’m not the food police! I have been able to educate my preceptors on what I have learned about the new International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative while in this rotation, as it is new to them too! I am excited to begin my next rotation at the hospital where I will see another side of medical nutrition therapy, but this rotation has exceeded my expectations and opened a possible career path that I may not have really considered otherwise!
During my DPD program, I learned about the different diseases and their nutritional implications, however, in the senior population I learned that resident preferences frequently take precedent! I am so interested in this area because I feel that dietitians play a huge role in finding the balance between providing evidenced-based care for residents’ health conditions and providing them the best quality of life. I have enjoyed being a part of care plan meetings, where I am able to hear of residents’ medical histories and see the dietitian’s recommendations actually making a difference in resident lives.
One of my favorite experiences from this site is that I have been able to diagnose protein-calorie malnutrition through performing nutrition focused physical exams and the use of a dynamometer. I have been able to educate the residents and their families on a dynamometer tool and how the data it provides helps me understand the nutrition status of the resident. I feel empowered using the dynamometer while performing the nutrition focused physical exam with the residents, because it shows them that I have an important role in their care and I’m not the food police! I have been able to educate my preceptors on what I have learned about the new International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative while in this rotation, as it is new to them too! I am excited to begin my next rotation at the hospital where I will see another side of medical nutrition therapy, but this rotation has exceeded my expectations and opened a possible career path that I may not have really considered otherwise!
