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Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2025!
On May 30th, I had the opportunity to speak to the graduating dietetic interns at Children’s Hospital Colorado, sharing my journey from clinical care to entrepreneurship in diabetes care and education. Here are a few reflections and words of wisdom I’ve embraced along the way.
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Graduate School: Fall Semester, Defense, Graduation
There is a running light-hearted joke in my family that I am the “eternal student” always enrolled in either a degree, continuing education class, or certification program. It’s not to avoid getting a job, as I’ve worked full time along the way, but what can I say? I love to learn! Career development takes time and I find I do best in structured learning environments. Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to post an update on the completion of my graduate coursework, Plan B Thesis/Defense, and conferral of my degree. After almost two years working and studying full time, weekends…
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Graduate School: Spring/Summer Semester
As much as I’ve enjoyed my coursework this spring and summer, I am glad to be on to my last semester this fall. FSHN 506: Nutrition & Human Performance South Dakota State University | Professor Elizabeth Droke This course is designed for students to develop an understanding of nutrition based upon knowledge of the biochemical and physiological process and functions of specific nutrients in meeting nutritional requirements. The course emphasizes the relationship of optimal nutrition and physical efficiency and performance. EDRM: Principles of Quantitative Data Analysis University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Professor Charles Ansorge Students are introduced to statistical methods applied…
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Graduate School: My First Semester
I wish I had a better photo to portray my experience so far in grad school, but as an online student also working 40+ hours at my day job, the stack of books just about sums it up. I hemmed and hawed about returning to school; I am starting to gain a reputation among family and friend as the “eternal student”, but I just wasn’t ready to end the academic chapter of my life just yet. I’ve received a lot of questions about the program that I am enrolled in; I also had a lot of questions myself just a…
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Life After My Dietetic Internship
My journey to become a registered dietitian has come to an end. I’ve obtained a bachelor of science in nutrition, completed an accredited dietetic internship, passed my registration exam, and started work as an outpatient registered dietitian. So now what?
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Week 25: Internship Graduation!
I did it! I successfully completed my dietetic internship! Those 1250 hours just flew right by! It was bitter-sweet to part with preceptors i’ve grown found of, but it’s time for this little birdie to leave the nest.
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Weeks 23-24: Accepting Criticism with Grace
Let’s face it, criticism can be challenging to accept. To a perfectionist – it’s a bullet to heart. But without constructive criticism, there is no motivation for growth, adaptation, or development of our ‘best professional self.’
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Weeks 19-22: Clinical Inpatient
The role of the Registered Dietitian in the clinical inpatient setting was a total mystery me to me prior to starting rotations at the hospital. I knew the focus was acute care coupled with some tube feed calculations, but I didn’t really understand the workflow. After completing week 4 (of 7) at the hospital, I am happy to say I’ve finally gotten into the swing of things!
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Week 18: RD Exam Prep
With less than seven weeks left of rotations, we’ve been encouraged by our internship director to design and implement an RD Exam study schedule. The RD Exam is the last step in becoming a credentialed registered dietitian.
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Weeks 15-17: Entrepreneurialism
Weeks 15 + 16 as a dietetic intern with Iowa State University.
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Week 14: Renal Care and Dialysis
People don’t usually think about their kidneys. Generally speaking, the kidneys and how they work are a mystery to many of us. We know we have two, although one is all that is needed to live a healthy life. Kidney disease is gradual but kidney failure can be traumatic, especially when it involves “the BigD.”
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Weeks 11-13: Narrowing my Niche
Week thirteen marks the halfway point in my dietetic internship! It’s bizarre to think I have been completing rotations for over three months. Lately, I have been contemplating the answer to a question I am asked frequently – “what area of dietetics do you plan to work in?”
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Week 10: Bariatrics
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. Although diet and exercise are the first-line treatment, medical therapy for severe obesity has limited success. Weight loss surgery generally yields greater weight loss, improvements in quality of life, and decrease in obesity related disease.
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Week 9: The Comprehensive NCP
I’ve finished my first week in clinical! My focus this week was to acclimate to the clinical setting, brush-up on disease states, and practice the NCP (Nutrition Care Process).
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Week 8: The 3-Step Counseling Strategy
The 3-step counseling strategy was developed to help WIC staff and health care workers promote positive health practices.
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Week 7: Women, Infants, and Children
“The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.”
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Week 6: Food Service Wrap-Up
Good-bye hairnets, chef coats, and 5am wake-up calls. I’ve finished 250 hours of food service management!
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Week 5: School Nutrition
School lunches have come a long way since their birth at the turn of the nineteenth century.
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Week 4: Emotional Intelligence
Week 4 of 25 as a dietetic intern with Iowa State University
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Week 3: Perfecting the Purée
Week 3 of 25 as a dietetic internship with Iowa State University.
