I visited my local farmer’s market this morning, the first of 2019. It reminded me that my dietetic internship at the Sodexo Allentown campus is in its final season and made me reflect on my experience so far.
One of my favorite things about this internship is the flexibility to learn more in areas that I’m passionate about. I love farming. I grew up on a farm in Western NY, and I have farmed as a career in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. During my community rotation, I volunteered with Red Hill Farm in Aston, PA, where I’ve been a Community Supported Agriculture member for the last nine years. Not only did I get to work alongside the farm crew planting vegetables, I also went into a school in Chester, PA with the farm educator to provide nutrition education to third graders. It was such a rewarding experience to get kids thinking about where their food comes from and the benefits of eating healthy!
Leading up to the internship, I was nervous about balancing internship commitments with my family life. I soon found out that with good communication, my internship director and my preceptors were very accommodating with my needs. For my clinical rotations, I was lucky enough to be placed at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, PA which is only a five-minute drive from my home and my children’s school. I spent nine months at Mercy Fitz, completing all of my clinical rotations and my MNT concentration hours. The extended experience allowed me to get to know the staff and patients very well. I learned so much from the amazing dietitians there!
Through my connections at Mercy Fitz, I was even able to observe a CABG procedure, a type of open-heart surgery. It was a valuable experience that I’ll never forget. Seeing this procedure helped me to understand the importance of nutrition in the healing process after invasive surgeries. In addition, it reinforced the need for diet education to help patients make lifestyle changes so they don’t end up back on the operating table.
In this final season of my internship, I have only the food service management rotation at GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia, PA left to complete. I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone! Soon I will be looking for my first RD position. My hope for myself and all the other future RDs is that we find work that strikes a balance with our day-to-day life and allows us to follow our passions.
Good luck to those of you finishing and starting your dietetic internship!
One of my favorite things about this internship is the flexibility to learn more in areas that I’m passionate about. I love farming. I grew up on a farm in Western NY, and I have farmed as a career in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. During my community rotation, I volunteered with Red Hill Farm in Aston, PA, where I’ve been a Community Supported Agriculture member for the last nine years. Not only did I get to work alongside the farm crew planting vegetables, I also went into a school in Chester, PA with the farm educator to provide nutrition education to third graders. It was such a rewarding experience to get kids thinking about where their food comes from and the benefits of eating healthy!
Leading up to the internship, I was nervous about balancing internship commitments with my family life. I soon found out that with good communication, my internship director and my preceptors were very accommodating with my needs. For my clinical rotations, I was lucky enough to be placed at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, PA which is only a five-minute drive from my home and my children’s school. I spent nine months at Mercy Fitz, completing all of my clinical rotations and my MNT concentration hours. The extended experience allowed me to get to know the staff and patients very well. I learned so much from the amazing dietitians there!
Through my connections at Mercy Fitz, I was even able to observe a CABG procedure, a type of open-heart surgery. It was a valuable experience that I’ll never forget. Seeing this procedure helped me to understand the importance of nutrition in the healing process after invasive surgeries. In addition, it reinforced the need for diet education to help patients make lifestyle changes so they don’t end up back on the operating table.
In this final season of my internship, I have only the food service management rotation at GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia, PA left to complete. I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone! Soon I will be looking for my first RD position. My hope for myself and all the other future RDs is that we find work that strikes a balance with our day-to-day life and allows us to follow our passions.
Good luck to those of you finishing and starting your dietetic internship!
