Hi, all! My name is Tracy, and I am interning with the NY campus. My NY internship cohorts have been supportive and insightful, and they post funny memes on our GroupMe chat. When this internship journey started out for me, I was sure I wanted to have MNT as my concentration, as I desire to work in a holistic/complementary/alternative health setting, but I changed my concentration to wellness as I moved through more of my rotations.
I started out in food service management. This was the rotation I was looking forward to, and it ended up being excellent! I met great people and learned the idea of flexible precision as I witnessed intensely adaptive food services in the East Orange school district. A perfect example of attractive marketing, design, and responsive feedback, meetings called ‘Yak’ sessions directed students and staff members. The general manager is an RD that wanted to use her business savvy to managing a strong team of front-line managers. Very neat!
I started out in food service management. This was the rotation I was looking forward to, and it ended up being excellent! I met great people and learned the idea of flexible precision as I witnessed intensely adaptive food services in the East Orange school district. A perfect example of attractive marketing, design, and responsive feedback, meetings called ‘Yak’ sessions directed students and staff members. The general manager is an RD that wanted to use her business savvy to managing a strong team of front-line managers. Very neat!
Then it was on to Hackensack Pascack Valley in Westwood, NJ, and it was a rigorous and intense clinical learning experience. The RDs there are passionate, have a wealth of expert knowledge, and they supported me to address the acute nutrition issues at hand. I learned SO much! I am so thankful for my time there.
Then on to LTC, my amazing preceptor taught me how to dial ‘acute’ back to address a long-term care patient, and I was taught the importance of liberalizing a resident’s diet, personal choice, and family relationships in a long-term setting. Sprinkle that with nutrition related crosswords, recipes, and cooking demos - they were a great group!
Then on to LTC, my amazing preceptor taught me how to dial ‘acute’ back to address a long-term care patient, and I was taught the importance of liberalizing a resident’s diet, personal choice, and family relationships in a long-term setting. Sprinkle that with nutrition related crosswords, recipes, and cooking demos - they were a great group!
I just finished renal, and I loved that rotation too! The wonderful RD there taught me what renal-specific nutrients to focus on to address the needs of dialysis patients. Also, I had the opportunity to individually counsel, educate, and hand out materials to support this amazing group of resilient people on their determined journey.
Now, my favorite part (and you can ask my fellow NY interns if this is true) is to ask every RD we have run into during class days and at my different sites the question, "What is in your pockets?"
Our jackets average out to 2.5 pockets and the only thing that was a consistent answer was different color pens, calculators, and the formulary book for that hospital. RDs have answered – cheat sheets (parenteral nutrition), food and drug interactions pocketbook, consult lists, permanent markers, dry-erase felts, pencils, scratch paper, white out, notebooks, candy, snacks, Kleenex, paper clips, lip balm, coupons for Ensure, pill bottle samples, stickers, and gum.
Seriously, a varied bunch of items, eh? The biggest advice I have is this –the internship goes fast, you meet a bunch of great people, and you will learn a LOT from everyone you work with! Gayanne and Christina are super supportive, and this internship honestly gives you a taste of many things you may not have otherwise been exposed to - so keep an open mind. You are in good hands!
Our jackets average out to 2.5 pockets and the only thing that was a consistent answer was different color pens, calculators, and the formulary book for that hospital. RDs have answered – cheat sheets (parenteral nutrition), food and drug interactions pocketbook, consult lists, permanent markers, dry-erase felts, pencils, scratch paper, white out, notebooks, candy, snacks, Kleenex, paper clips, lip balm, coupons for Ensure, pill bottle samples, stickers, and gum.
Seriously, a varied bunch of items, eh? The biggest advice I have is this –the internship goes fast, you meet a bunch of great people, and you will learn a LOT from everyone you work with! Gayanne and Christina are super supportive, and this internship honestly gives you a taste of many things you may not have otherwise been exposed to - so keep an open mind. You are in good hands!
