Dietetic Internship: Weeks 4 & 5

Hi Friends!

It’s hard to believe it’s time to catch you guys up on another two weeks of my internship! There have been some changes to my schedule recently so let’s cover those first, shall we? I was originally supposed to be at CHA for 5 weeks. Then I extended my stay to 8 weeks. Now we’re back down to 7 weeks, and here’s why!

As some of you may know, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics puts on a big conference every year called the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. It’s a huge event and they bring in a lot of big name speakers.

In the past, i haven’t been able to attend due to the price of plane tickets. I wasn’t planning on going this year either, for the same reason, but last week…on a whim…I decided to check plane tickets one more time. I was able to find a plane ticket for $160 round trip, including tax. I immediately bought it and that means…I’m going to Philadelphia here in a few weeks! The conference has an opening session on Saturday October 6th, followed by almost 3 full days of sessions, speakers and events. I’m SO excited to go. Almost all my fellow interns are going as well, along with some RDs and Dietetic interns i’ve met through the blogging world!

I’m still in the process of deciding which sessions I want to attend, but here are some that caught my eye when I first looked through them:

Smart Phones and Smart Patients: The New Rules of Engagement
Social Media: New Ethical and Legal Paradigm
Non-Traditional Career Paths in Dietetics
Bridging the Technology Gap: Utilizing New Tools to Communicate Engaging Messages to Moms
Nutrition for the Electronic Age: Grab Your Seat at the Table
You have the coolest job!- RDs in the Food Industry

Obviously not all of the sessions are geared towards these topics. Many are very clinically focused…but I’m using this as an opportunity to learn more about the things I’m interested, and also topics that can apply to my blog and future career!

So, for that 8th week I was supposed to be at CHA, I’ll be at FNCE Monday and Tuesday. I’ll have Wednesday to recover and then Thursday and Friday I’ll be spending time with Gina, who is a supermarket dietitian for Giant Eagle. I’ve gotten to know Gina through blogging and can’t wait to meet her in person. One thing I already know I get to help with is a grocery store tour for gluten-free shoppers!

Then, on October 15th I start my next 8 week rotation at the Center for Healthy Weight.

So, what have I been doing for the past two weeks?

I spent my fourth week at CHA doing a variety of projects.
-I organized a lot of nutrition tips and information so it can be easily utilized by their marketing person.
– I met with a CHA employee that works in one of their programs I didn’t know much about called Columbus Kids, that focuses a lot of school readiness.
– I created a Nutrition 101 flyer for them to give out to the parents they work with.

– I did some research on effective food demos.
– I put together a powerpoint to train new Americorp members about how to successfully teach nutrition education classes to adults.

– I helped with and spoke at the first Columbus Dietetic Association meeting of the year. The topic was social media and I got to speak about Foodie Penpals
– I talked with some students that are currently enrolled in the Diet Tech program I completed.
– I sat in on a meeting with Shelby and an organization called Local Matters that runs the Cooking Matters program that I volunteered with over the summer. They have a Cooking Matters program for childcare providers so the two agencies are working together to implement that with some of CHA’s childcare providers.
– We got to do some one on one counsel after there was a bit of a miscommunication about a presentation that Shelby was supposed to give. The middleman had her wires crossed and told each agency different things so only one person showed up. However she was very interseted in nutrition and her husband was diabetic so we did some counseling with her and sent her home with lots of materials and information
-I taught another nutrition ed lesson at the food pantry
– I sat in on a provider training that some CHA employees were giving to their after school site providers.

Then during Week 5, things were a little less crazy.

-I reviewed some books with kids experiments in them and tagged ones that could possibly be passed on to childcare providers.
– I made a tooth brushing chart to be included in the CARES kits so that kids can put a sticker up every time they brush their teeth.

-I attended a morning of Americorps orientation and helped give them a crash course in nutrition to refresh their memories before they start teaching kids.
– I taught another adult ed class, this time at a different food pantry.
-I did lots of research and started gathering activites for the next CARES kit that will go out in February. I got to select the theme and everything that will go in it. I picked “Eat the Rainbow” as the them and all of the contents are geared towards getting the kids to eat their fruits and veggies, eat lots of different colors, etc.
– I attended a training Shelby put on for CHA childcare providers.
– I went on a home visit with Meghan from the Columbus Kids department.

Whew! So now you’re all caught up.

Now you tell me:

-Are you going to FNCE?! Let’s meet up!
-Do you live in Philly? Let’s meet up!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–