Everyone
comes into the internship with different skills, experiences, and
strengths. Each intern also has areas in
which they can improve. As for me, I was
excited for each rotation but was particularly nervous about clinical. I’ve volunteered in a hospital before but
never shadowed an RD—I mainly just listened to patients complain about the food
during meal rounds. I had a lot of
concerns before my rotation at Harbor Hospital started: should I go over my
notes and try to memorize everything I learned in MNT? What if I forget the
different nutritional requirements for each disease state? What are the PPN/TPN
equations again?
With
all of these questions building up during my first two rotations, I felt pretty
anxious driving to my first day last week.
My only homework assignment was to come up with a list of strengths and
weaknesses for clinical. My strengths
seemed to focus on personality traits and work ethic while my weaknesses
were…everything clinical. While I was
waiting for my preceptor to meet me in the visitor lobby at Harbor, I
remembered something my friend told me years ago. She had told me that no
matter how scared I am about something new, that I should always say “yes” to
every opportunity that comes my way.
Even if I fail miserably, I’ll learn a great deal about myself and may
be surprised at how much I like something that I initially feared.
Keeping
her advice in mind, I went through my day with a much more positive outlook. Okay, so maybe I don’t remember everything
from undergrad but that’s why my preceptor wanted me to reflect on my strengths
and weaknesses. I could use my current skills
and knowledge to improve on everything I was worried at the beginning: energy
and protein requirements, nutritional needs, equations, bedside manner, etc.
During
my first week, I said “yes” to every opportunity to learn, even if I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into.
I shadowed in ICU on my first day, learned how to screen using the
malnutrition diagnoses criteria, and even began following up with patients on
my own by the end of the week. Even
though a lot of terminology and abbreviations sound like a foreign language to
me (especially during rounds with the medical interns), it allows me to set
learning goals for myself during my time at Harbor.
I
am also very fortunate to work with an awesome team of dietitians who are not only
aware that I have little to no clinical experience but are very enthusiastic to
make the best out of my 8-10 weeks. The
first time I talked to a patient, I received great feedback on what went well
and what I can work on to make the next encounter better. I’ve asked more questions than I can count
but it doesn’t seem to faze the RDs at all.
And embracing new opportunities for learning and growth is wonderful
because it doesn’t give you the time to be afraid. You’re so busy becoming a better RD that you
forget to be nervous. Even though I
started clinical with butterflies in my stomach, I am already enjoying myself
more than I imagined. I can’t wait for what my second week (and the rest of the
rotation) has to offer.
