Hello everyone! My name is Amanda Hawkins and I’m an intern in Region 10 based out of Houston, Texas. Beginning my internship during the COVID-19 pandemic has been anything but easy, while consequently helping me grow. With hospital policies barring interns from entering, my rotation schedule had to be adjusted and I began with my community rotation. Finding sites and preceptors at late notice during coronavirus was incredibly challenging, but I knew I wanted to get the most of my internship experience, regardless of the pandemic. With this determination, I pushed through my nerves and fears to research sites, find email addresses, find connections, and often resort to cold-calling locations to be put in contact with the nutrition team and ask about opportunities. I was met with overwhelming rejection time and time again, both for the safety of clients and due to the fast approaching timeline. I had to become continually more creative in the opportunities I looked for and work through the anxieties with only have a couple weeks planned ahead at a time.

​My name is Brittney Hamasaki and I am from region 12 in Honolulu, Hawaii. During my time in my food service management rotation I was able to sit in a production meeting, help assist in the lunch rush in the cafe, and even help cook some of the grill items. At lunch one day I was helping with grill orders, running orders from the grill to customers, and cashiering. A lot of times I had to be flexible and multitask. Some days I helped out in the dish room and it was a great learning experience. I got to help prepare meals for lunch like tonkatsu, which was a lot of fun. Each day was different and allowed me to learn and do something new every day.
 
One week I got to help with food service worker week, and it was nice getting to give appreciation to all of the workers. I enjoyed seeing the excitement from the workers each day we had a different treat. It was nice that I could be part of something positive in these difficult times. One day we had Chex mix, another day we had root beer floats.
 
With how quickly the rotation flies by, I recommend staying organized. Each day is something new so it is easy to get thrown off track and you can easily forget to do something. I recommend sitting down with your preceptor to make a schedule of what you will get done each day during your rotation. I found this not only helpful for myself, but it made it easier on my preceptor because she knew where I would be each day during my rotation. It is important to be proactive with the projects and start early; it will make planning and organizing so much simpler. Lastly don’t be afraid to ask questions. I asked my preceptor so many questions when I didn’t understand something. I’m glad I asked all those questions because she wasn’t afraid to answer them. I put myself outside of my comfort zone, and I’m glad that I did; it allowed me to learn and experience so much more. 

​Hi everyone! My name is Brittany Bingham and I am a region 9 intern. I live very close to the Illinois/Indiana border, so I am interning in Northwest Indiana at Northlake Methodist Hospital in Gary for my clinical rotation. I was nervous at first to begin the internship experience in clinical, but I was quickly made comfortable by all of the employees at Methodist. I also have an amazing support system of directors that go above and beyond to make the internship process goes as smoothly as possible! In my second week of clinical I conducted my patient services rotation at Methodist and began to develop connections with the kitchen staff. I ended my patient services rotation with a well-rounded understanding of the diet office and kitchens’ role in delivering diet and texture appropriate foods to patients. Furthering my connections within the hospital, I got the opportunity to spend time with the pharmacy department and saw how TPN mixtures are made. I gained a much deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary team and how important it is to have great relationships and strong communication between departments.

With COVID-19, I am pushed to use alternative methods of communication to ensure that every patient who needs nutrition education receives it! I am getting excellent practice discussing patients with the interdisciplinary team and conducting phone interviews. With the patients that I am able to see, I get practice with face-to-face communication and the NFPE! I think that now more than ever I am getting a full experience on how to care for patients through both technology and face-to-face interaction. I am gaining confidence every day in my developing skill set!
 
Aside from clinical, Methodist threw a fall festival for all hospital employees and I helped to distribute meals. Each hospital worker got a meal, a drink, and snacks to show appreciation for their commitment to healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak. Feeding the people that risk their lives every day to help others was a heart-warming experience that I am glad I had the opportunity to participate in! I look forward to more fun and exciting community outreach on the rest of my internship journey! ​

​Hello! My name is Ellie Goetz, and I am an intern with region 4 (Philadelphia/southern New Jersey area). I started the internship in September 2020. Our orientation was virtual instead of in-person due to the pandemic, and I thought the internship directors did a great job with the virtual orientation. While it was disappointing not to meet everyone in person, there are monthly chats with several other interns, so we still stay connected. 
 
My first rotation was Patient Services, which was a week-long rotation with the Patient Services Director at Jefferson-Torresdale hospital. It was a great experience because I got to see how the kitchen and the patients communicate in terms of how patients place their room service orders, how the patient’s diet order dictates what menu items they can order, and how the trays are put together. But perhaps the most unique experience of this rotation was taste testing all the supplements in the formulary. Overall, the Patient Services rotation really got me oriented and comfortable with the hospital environment.
 
Currently, I’m in week 4 of my Basic Clinical rotation also at Jefferson-Torresdale. Like many, I was nervous about starting clinical. Before the internship, I was only able to attain about 1 days’ worth of inpatient shadowing, but that was still beneficial because I got to see what clinical was like, even if it was brief.
 
From day 1, my clinical preceptor was exceptionally supportive and promoted my learning. She does not make me feel like I am taking up her time when I ask questions. Right now, she values quality and learning versus quantity and seeing too many patients each day. I see about 4 patients a day in Basic Clinical, which I feel comfortable doing. Mostly I work with the same preceptor for Basic, but when she is out, I work with one of the other dietitians, who are also really amazing.
 
From my first week of clinical, I felt like I made a difference in a patient’s life. I had a patient who came in with congestive heart failure, and when I went to see her, I asked her if she was having any chewing or swallowing difficulty. She told me her new dentures hurt her when she puts them in, so she avoids them but then has trouble with the harder foods. I then ordered her a mechanical soft diet so she could maintain her intake.
 
In the words of my preceptors, “there’s no such thing as a Basic patient.” Jefferson-Torresdale serves mostly an older population, so most of them have many comorbidities. It’s not just diabetes, it’s diabetes with heart failure, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and sometimes cancer or other conditions. With the support of my preceptors I am learning how to prioritize these conditions and give the patient what will most benefit them most at that time.
 
Overall, I’m having a great experience with Sodexo Dietetic Internship. It was my first choice due to the flexibility/individualized nature -- we get to design our community and concentration rotations, while our clinical and foodservice sites are assigned to us. To me, this is the best of both worlds. 

Hi there, my name is Tiffany Gonzalez, and I am a region 7 intern located in Miami, FL. However, my original location and where I am supposed to do my clinical rotation is in Jupiter, FL. I am also currently enrolled in the University of Rhode Island MS program. Due to COVID-19, Jupiter Medical Center is unable to accept interns into their facility, so I had to start my internship with my community rotation. Due to the current global pandemic, finding multiple community sites has been challenging. Sodexo was great in providing ideas of community rotation sites in my area and supplied me with simulation hours and assignments I could complete while I was waiting to be accepted to a site. The simulation hours are a great resource to learn more about other aspects of the RD field.
 
After a couple of weeks contacting many community sites, I was able to start interning with Flipany. They are a school nutrition education program that provides virtual classes or have students in an after-care program. I started by giving virtual nutrition classes to elementary school students around the South Florida area. I taught them about many subjects surrounding nutrition, including Myplate, eating the rainbow, and sugar intake. I was also able to create new classes for their program that included games and learning about sugar in our drinks and I created recipes. Next week, I will be starting to attend in person classes in their after-school program and conducting cooking demos for the students.
 
Since starting the internship and the MS program, my time management skills have improved tremendously, especially after orientation. In the orientation you will learn many skills needed to complete the internship. The directors are great at providing the tools necessary to navigate the program. The best advice they gave me was to do something every day! Also being flexible is very important, especially during the global pandemic. I am glad that my Sodexo director has been helpful during these difficult times and is helping me navigate the internship. I am exited for what is ahead!

My favorite assignment for this rotation is The Retail and Wellness Project. My event will be a fall pumpkin theme. I like using my creative side to come with an event that customers will learn from and enjoy. Working on internship projects and completing the competencies can be challenging at times, but I'm making sure to stay organized and communicate with my preceptors what I need. They have been supportive of my ideas and have made me feel like they are invested in me getting the best experience during my time with them. ​

Some other projects I have been working on are helping the hospital’s Manna Food Drive. I counted and sorted the food that was donated and made sure they were not damaged or expired. I also created a cancer awareness bulletin board with information on cancer prevention for customers the walk into the café. Another project was to translate the hospital's new patient menu into Spanish. I feel very grateful to my preceptors, who are giving me a wide variety of experiences to take with me. ​

My name is Courtney Walker and I am a region 4 intern based just outside of Philadelphia. While I initially planned on beginning my food service rotation at Doylestown Hospital in September, COVID-19 rerouted my journey. Initially upset about the change in plans, I decided to accept it and use it as a time to seek out some opportunities for things that really interested me in my community!

Right now, the community for me is through online space and virtual options. I was connected with a Sodexo intern graduate, Eva Haldis, and her private practice Eva Haldis Nutrition. She practices using a Health at Every Size approach, which is something that I have been interested in since undergrad. I have begun my time with Eva doing my own research on HAES and Intuitive Eating, so that I can be up to speed when I shadow her in virtual client meetings. Between getting to write blog posts about these growing topics in our field and creating infographics that help her clients understand their body better, I have already gotten to learn so much from Eva.

As working from home and telehealth options are expanding quickly through the COVID-19 times, I feel lucky that I am able to observe how this is occurring in a private practice setting. It is giving me a perspective into private practice that I would have not otherwise considered. My projects will not only give me experience in helping others understand this revolutionary approach, but also give Eva’s clients the tools that they need to improve their relationship with food and their body. So far, I have gotten to shadow client calls related to body image issues and chronic dieting. Eva has demonstrated motivational interviewing for me in these meetings, and this experience is invaluable to my future as an RD. Handling body image is a sensitive subject, as some of these clients have a history of eating disorders or disordered eating. I have gotten to do readings on what this means and how we approach it differently than traditional nutrition therapy.

Since I am unsure what my future holds in the realm of dietetics, getting to personally tailor my community rotation allows me to pursue some unique experiences. Approaching nutrition from a perspective of weight inclusivity and minimal judgement around food is something that we have limited coursework on in undergraduate nutrition programs, so I feel very fortunate to be able to work with Eva. As I continue to learn more about private practice from a weight neutral approach, I hope to be able to navigate these conversations effectively and empathetically. 

Hello my name is Kate Graves and I am a region 1 Sodexo dietetic intern based out of New Hampshire.  When applying for internships, I was looking for something individualized. I wanted an internship that would provide new experiences, that was understanding of my family-life (I am a new mom), and one where I had directors or preceptors who were available to me for help. Sodexo was my first choice, and was highly recommended by friends who had previously graduated from this internship. When I got in, I knew it was going to be a unique experience but I had no idea just how individualized and supportive this internship would be.

My internship director has gone out of her way to make this a personalized experience for me. She has reached out with opportunities of interest to me. From working on a position paper on Multiple Sclerosis, to helping out with a local hospital’s outpatient social media page I have had a variety of unique projects to work on that have sparked my interest. Despite this year’s unique circumstances with COVID-19, I have continued to feel like I’ve been given a variety of new opportunities to be a part of that have been both educational and fun!

My director has been a pillar of support for me during this entire experience. The quarantine began in the midst of my clinical rotation, and my director reached out to me to assure that I was feeling safe in my situation. When the hospital put a hold on allowing students/interns inside, my director helped me find other ways to benefit my time until I was able to return in-person. When my food service management rotation was no longer able to accept me, my director went out of her way to help me find a place that I could go. This help and encouragement has extended beyond what has been going on with COVID. When I felt lost working on some of the homework assignments, my director scheduled a meeting with me to help go over my answers to assure that I was able to understand all the concepts. Saying that the Sodexo directors have been supportive would be an understatement.
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If I were to talk to anyone applying for internships today, I would encourage them to apply to Sodexo. I could not be happier with my experiences so far, and I'm looking forward to the next rotation. From new opportunities to the supportive staff, this internship has truly been exactly what I needed to prepare myself to become a Registered Dietitian. ​

​Hi everyone! My name is Maggie Peeke and I am a Region 4 intern. I completed my clinical and food service rotations at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey (NBIMC). In the beginning, I was nervous to see patients in the hospital, but after my first week I felt more confident and interested in clinical. I was able to work with 12 different dietitians throughout the entirety of my time at NBIMC and I saw a variety of cases from heart transplant patients to intubated TPN patients in the ICU.
 
In March, the pandemic hit my internship in a unique way and I was sent home for four months. However, I was able to continue to work on my clinical skills through the help of our great directors. On returning to NBIMC I worked in food service and one of the highlights of my internship was helping to put together a healthy and mindful meal in the cafeteria for the employees. I was able to design the meal and create various handouts to inform the hard-working healthcare workers. I ended up making a serve-to-order salad that had astounding feedback from employees and generated the highest profit for a meal item that week.
 
Even though the pandemic interrupted my internship, I was able to gain great clinical experience. I entered the internship with some hesitation as to how I would fare in the hospital, but walked away with a positive experience and an even greater interest in working as a clinical dietitian after graduating. Overall, I am very thankful for the time I was able to spend at NBIMC and I am grateful for my classmates and directors that have helped me along the way.