Hi! My name is Seth Cowan. I am a region 5 dietetic intern and I am currently in my advanced clinical rotation at White Oak Medical Center, a community hospital in the D.C. suburbs. I spent my food service rotation at the same hospital, learning all about the controlled manner in which food is produced and delivered to patients, as well as the retail operation. My retail and marketing project centered on the Sodexo Mindful initiative, which is Sodexo’s mission to deliver healthful food options that are also delicious. I was able to promote the initiative in the hospital cafeteria by offering Mindful recipes and clarifying the message that Sodexo promotes through this campaign.
Following my food service rotation, I was eager to start my clinical rotation because that is my area of interest, and it has not disappointed! I rotate among three registered dietitians who quickly gave me independence in performing assessments and charting on my own, and I have learned so much from their feedback and from listening in on the informal conversations in the dietetic office about their patients. I have absorbed certain features of their assessment style and how they develop a plan of care for a patient.
The dietitians have been so helpful in recognizing areas of opportunity and providing blunt feedback to help me master the art and science of practicing dietetics in a hospital setting. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is to focus the goals and interventions on areas we can try to control, such as a patient’s calorie intake and their wound healing. We work on an interdisciplinary team that includes many specialists who each have a specific role in patient care, and we need to be the expert within our work scope and remember our part in patient care we can directly influence. I also enjoy interacting with nurses and other team members because you learn about other areas that are tangentially related to a dietitian’s role but help piece together the patient experience.
My biggest piece of advice is to remember you’re a student and to ask the question ‘why?’ when speaking to patients and preceptors. I have received golden nuggets of information from patients from this simple question. I also ask the preceptors why we have a certain protocol in our hospital and question the logic behind it. The way things are done are not always the most efficient, so if you can improve a workflow or suggest a new idea, go for it!
Following my food service rotation, I was eager to start my clinical rotation because that is my area of interest, and it has not disappointed! I rotate among three registered dietitians who quickly gave me independence in performing assessments and charting on my own, and I have learned so much from their feedback and from listening in on the informal conversations in the dietetic office about their patients. I have absorbed certain features of their assessment style and how they develop a plan of care for a patient.
The dietitians have been so helpful in recognizing areas of opportunity and providing blunt feedback to help me master the art and science of practicing dietetics in a hospital setting. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is to focus the goals and interventions on areas we can try to control, such as a patient’s calorie intake and their wound healing. We work on an interdisciplinary team that includes many specialists who each have a specific role in patient care, and we need to be the expert within our work scope and remember our part in patient care we can directly influence. I also enjoy interacting with nurses and other team members because you learn about other areas that are tangentially related to a dietitian’s role but help piece together the patient experience.
My biggest piece of advice is to remember you’re a student and to ask the question ‘why?’ when speaking to patients and preceptors. I have received golden nuggets of information from patients from this simple question. I also ask the preceptors why we have a certain protocol in our hospital and question the logic behind it. The way things are done are not always the most efficient, so if you can improve a workflow or suggest a new idea, go for it!
