Volunteering in the Dietetics Department in hospital setting is an invaluable experience for me. I gained experiences on nutrition assessment and nutrition education material development. By observing the work of dietitians in nutrition counselling and health education class, I learn more about the roles and responsibilities of dietitians, and understand that healthcare provision could only be achieved by collaborations among members of the healthcare team.
In the beginning of the internship, I work closely with the dietetic assistants (known as Dietetics Patient Care Assistants). They perform nutrition assessment for the in-patients in ward and out-patients in the dietetics out-patient clinic. After training, I started to carry out nutrition
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I learn that different dietitians have their own style of communication, an encouraging and supportive tone, or clear instructions to patients with poor compliance. From these experiences, I understand the major goal of dietitians in hospitals - to provide patients with information they need for lifestyle modifications and resolving their nutritional problems caused by their health conditions, illness or treatment side-effects. What I learn from lessons, is that dietitians prescribe meal plan and dietary restrictions to patients, while in reality, dietitians try to fit the dietary changes into patient’s current lifestyle, changing their original diet as little as possible, along with negotiation and encouragement for patients to improve their health. Dietitians, at the same time, answer patient’s queries and relieve their anxiety on the many nutritional claims they have heard. Different topics of health education classes are in different style, while the one for newly diagnosed diabetes patient is the most intriguing to me. The aim of the class is to let the patient and their caregiver to understand the diagnosis, as well as learning to manage their glucose level and disease progression. Dietitian serves as an educator, to teach patients how to control their glucose level by diet and exercise, while checking their understanding by looking at their responses to
Although not effective for everyone but many people have found pharmacotherapy has the ability to stabilize their condition. For most people with diabetes, the most challenging in the treatment plan is to determine what food to eat. There is not a one-size-fits-all eating pattern for individuals with diabetes. The integral role of nutrition therapy in overall diabetes management and has historically recommended that each person with diabetes be actively engaged in self-management, education, and treatment planning with health care provider, which includes the collaborative development of an individualized eating plan. Therefore, it is important that all members of the health care team be knowledgeable about diabetes nutrition therapy and support its implementation.
My interest as a future Registered Dietitian is to work children and adolescents. I wish I can afford nutrition education, especially to children and adolescents, as I think the value of food and nutrition education is the important step in shaping a
My short-term goals are to enhance my knowledge of medical nutrition therapy, to gain experiences in all aspects of the dietetic field especially in clinical nutrition setting, and to become an RD. My long-term career goals are to become Certified Diabetes Educator, to engage and serve in community nutrition, and to promote wellness and preventive health care for socio-economically and culturally fragile populations. The U.S. population has become increasingly diverse in ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, I believe that providing patient-centered education with respect on the differences of cultural, religious, and dietary practices are the keys to becoming a successful educator in nutrition counseling and education.
Dietetic Assistant: food preparation, helps patients with menus, delivers trays, works under supervision of the Dietician
Integrating a registered dietitian and their nutritional knowledge into primary care can play an important role in prevention and management of the majority of conditions seen in this setting. For example, in primary care offices general medicine is practiced. It is where patients go for routine checkups or non-emergency medical care. This means the majority of time the professionals
A Certified Clinical Nutritionist is someone who counsels clients on how to either maintain or create healthy diets and ultimately a healthy lifestyle. A bachelor degree, certifications and many hours of internship are required to become a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. Becoming a CCN does not only require an interest and a degree in Nutrition Science. To be a successful professional entails much more. This research will determine the specialized knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, and technology competency that will be attributed to the overall success and achievement in the future of a Certified Clinical Nutrition. An outline and overview of the educational requirements as well as, some career goals will be presented. This study will also take a detailed look at how some current issues in the health sciences relate to the nutrition science profession.
Patient’s diets have changed over the last 100 years and have created a large increase in chronic illnesses and higher needs for medical care. This demand has created the need for a much greater system of healthcare that includes hospitals, providers, and insurance companies.
The current professional issues summarized in the article Opening Sessions Remarks highlights the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) concerns on the minimal availability of internships available for the participation and education of future RDNs. A second concern is the lack of ethic diversity in the RDN profession, in order to understand the cultural background of the patients the RDN profession. Diversity must be a factor to fully expose graduating RDN’s to individuals from other races, religions and cultures to understand their dietary requirements. According to eatrightpro.org, African-Americans make up three percent of the registered dietitians in the United States of America; four percent are Hispanic and five percent Asians.
I had the opportunity to interview Robin Saucier a Clinical Nutrition Manager at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) for my Final Manager Interview Paper. The purpose of this manager interview was to understand more about the clinical nutrition field, learn what a Clinical Nutrition Manager duties are, and understand what they do. This assignment is a good networking experience to meet someone that is in my field of study and help me get more more information on how to focus more on clinical nutrition as a career.Since I have been taking medical nutrition therapy this semester I have been very interested in learn more about clinical nutrition and how to start a career being a clinical register dietitian.
Nutrition education plays a major role in patient care. When a patient is admitted into the Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) for treatment they may be put on a specific therapeutic diet. For example, if the patient is diagnosed with diabetes they are put on a carbohydrate consistency diet of 1800 calories per day or, if the patient has hypertension they may prescribe a 2.5g sodium restriction diet. All patients at the VA are assessed by a Registered Dietitian who make the recommendations on which therapeutic diet the patient would benefit from. Following a diet while inpatient is relatively simple because all meals are prepared and served to the patient. The dietitian along with the kitchen staff take care of what types of foods should avoid
Dietician: The dietician provides education regarding different aspects of nutrition to the patients at the cardiac rehab facility. They specialize specific meal plans for individual patients. They also encourage all patients to participate in healthier nutritional lifestyle and answer any questions individuals may have regarding diet.
Nutrition is an important aspect of health within all age groups. A nurse’s initial assessment is very important to a patient’s nutritional status because during an assessment, many findings can determine the nutritional status of an individual. For example, a simple examination of a patient’s overall appearance can determine whether the patient is malnourished, by evidence of decreased functional status, decreased bone mass, impaired muscle function, immune dysfunction, reduced cognitive function,
The food we consume every day has a significant impact on our health. Changes in your diet can help prevent or control many health problems such as obesity, diabetes and certain risk factors for cancer and heart disease (Nutrition Dietetics 2016). It is crucial for a Nutritionist to understand the health concerns of their clients, as well as their possible food intolerances and even their diets based on religious practice. A Nutritionist should
I hadn’t always wanted to become a dietician, but my love of helping others, my family’s encouragement, and my interest in nutrition has made me come to the conclusion that dietetics would be the ideal field for me. Through my own life experiences, I have seen that nutrition and exercise play a huge factor into the health of an individual. For this reason, I want to be able to assist others with their goals and hardships, in addition to,
Maintenance of sufficient nutrition is an essential part of the treatment process for any patient admitted to the hospital. Early identification of patients who have a decreased nutrition status or have nutritional deficits helps to increase healing and overall improves the quality of life for a patient. Nutrition is more than just general food; it includes the overall amounts of