Hi! My name is Sarah Adamchak, a region 4 intern based out of New Jersey. I completed just over two months of the internship and am absolutely loving it thus far! In clinicals, I learned great methods to effectively communicate with patients, be confident in my knowledge, and quickly develop a strong work relationship with my preceptors. When I first started, I was slightly intimidated walking the halls of the hospital. However, I quickly became accustomed to how friendly and helpful the entire staff was and felt right at home. One of my biggest takeaways from the internship so far is developing professional communication with my preceptors in an environment where any and all questions are welcome. Regardless of how challenging an environment the hospital may be, my preceptor always reminds me that we have to find smiles and laughter throughout our days.
It is one thing to learn about diseases and potential nutrition treatments from a textbook but a totally different ball game when having to work with a patient in what are very real scenarios. With that said, interviewing patients has become a very pleasant normality during my time at the hospital. I remember just before my first patient interview I was extremely nervous and afraid to mess up. However, I quickly realized that more often than not, many patients love to just have a newer face to talk to and are interested in nutrition education. After many patient interviews, along with guidance from my preceptors, I gained further confidence in my skills. Since being in advanced clinicals, I have realized that the skills and knowledge I have acquired from the start are still helpful today.
In between my clinicals, I was given the opportunity to complete my patient services rotation and get the behind the scenes view on how the kitchen works. It was awesome to see all the unique roles that play a part in providing exceptional service for patient meals. My favorite task was doing patient orders and doing everything I could to get them excited for their next meal. I enjoyed working with the kitchen staff and getting to know each of them on a very friendly first name basis.
As for some advice during clinicals, I would emphasize that it is ok, even encouraged, to ask questions since we are here to learn. It is important to embrace new challenges and to keep a positive mindset. Patients tend to be very open, even eager, to communicate with young professions like ourselves. Putting nutrition aside, it is always nice to listen to patient stories as well as giving a helping hand through harder times. All of the different aspects of our day to day lives as an intern will stick with us and allow us to grow into becoming Registered Dietitians in the near future.
It is one thing to learn about diseases and potential nutrition treatments from a textbook but a totally different ball game when having to work with a patient in what are very real scenarios. With that said, interviewing patients has become a very pleasant normality during my time at the hospital. I remember just before my first patient interview I was extremely nervous and afraid to mess up. However, I quickly realized that more often than not, many patients love to just have a newer face to talk to and are interested in nutrition education. After many patient interviews, along with guidance from my preceptors, I gained further confidence in my skills. Since being in advanced clinicals, I have realized that the skills and knowledge I have acquired from the start are still helpful today.
In between my clinicals, I was given the opportunity to complete my patient services rotation and get the behind the scenes view on how the kitchen works. It was awesome to see all the unique roles that play a part in providing exceptional service for patient meals. My favorite task was doing patient orders and doing everything I could to get them excited for their next meal. I enjoyed working with the kitchen staff and getting to know each of them on a very friendly first name basis.
As for some advice during clinicals, I would emphasize that it is ok, even encouraged, to ask questions since we are here to learn. It is important to embrace new challenges and to keep a positive mindset. Patients tend to be very open, even eager, to communicate with young professions like ourselves. Putting nutrition aside, it is always nice to listen to patient stories as well as giving a helping hand through harder times. All of the different aspects of our day to day lives as an intern will stick with us and allow us to grow into becoming Registered Dietitians in the near future.
