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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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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 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 1: Orientation
Week 1 as a Dietetic Intern with Iowa State University
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Matched to Iowa State University
My hands were clammy and my stomach in a knot when I logged onto DICAS to check the status of my internship application. I felt fairly confident throughout the process, but in the final moments came a surge of doubt. Mostly “Oh crud… I really should have thought of a Plan B.”
