Dietetic Internship: Orientation Week
It’s official! I’m a dietetic intern!
After week one of my internship I’ve commuted over 10 hours in trusty Hilda (the VW) and listened to 2 audio books, spent 18 hours with 8 other interns in the classroom, and 12 hours in a hospital. It’s been a whirlwind to say the least.
Here’s what you might feel during your orientation week:
Overwhelmed: Like any new experience, I felt unsure of the best ways to complete assignments and what needed to be done. We were provided a HUGE and nicely organized binder by our director which included detailed directions of projects. To see a big looming binder is a little panic inducing, but as someone in a type A profession I also loved it.
How to fix it: Get a separate intern calendar and write down everything. Note what rounds you’ll do each week, when you need to contact new preceptors, what projects are coming up, and any changes in hours you know of so far. Think of it as brain dumping to give yourself some space in the noggin.
Inadequate: For my program, our first rotation is clinical. To me, it is the most difficult because of the need to know everything: disease states, lab values, counseling skills, medical abbreviations,etc! When you shadow clinical RD’s who have been doing this for years, they make it look easy. Then you try to do the same thing and you may choke.
How to fix it: Snap out of it, you’re an intern and you’re there to learn. The reason you are enrolled in this program is to discover your style of counseling and charting. I know I’ll get better as the weeks go on. By December I’ll be doing staff relief and doing it…on my own!
Exhaused: You’re getting a lot of information,doing case studies, and changing your schedule. You’re on your feet and running around different floors of the hospital with new experiences every minute. It’s emotionally and physically tiring. 7 am? I’m already at the hospital.
How to fix it: Your body will adjust to your new schedule but you need to know it’s okay to go to sleep ‘early’. I know from experience I need at least 7 hours of sleep to function. That means I need to be in bed around 10 pm. I’m comfortable with being on elderly-lady time.
I have just finished the first portion of clinical rotations and this is EXACTLY how I felt! You summed it up so well! I dont think the classroom can ever prepare for you the real thing, it was so good to be finally working on real pts instead of fictional case studies.
Good Luck with your internship experiences
Thank you!!! We had a speaker today who put working with real pts so well today.”No one you see will fit into the perfect disease and diagnosis box from those undergrad case studies.”
Thanks for the tips! I’m starting my clinical rotation in October and I am scared out of my mind. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m an intern and I’ll learn. I am really excited though. Good luck with your rotations!
I’m excited to hear about your experience! The socialmedia RD community is always a great resource for tips for students; I hope I can give back some through these posts.
Commuting an hour each way is definitely rough, I had to commute for my 9 week clinical rotation…and would leave by 6:15 am everyday. You definitely get used to the schedule by the end…I found finding a GOOD morning show that keeps you laughing the whole way there helped a ton. Also, if you ever need someone to vent to that understands how much commuting to unpaid internships is not fun feel free to contact me on twitter
So true-audio books are my saving grace in the car right now!
Fantastic post!! My first rotation in clinical was very very eye opening-post coming later this weekend! I love how you broke down all the challenges and how to face them head-on-you’re such a rockstar!!
xoxo
These are fantastic tips! I especially love your tip for clinical bc it is so true. I remember feeling sad I didn’t know everything at the beginning when why would I?
I think the biggest thing to remember, especially in the clinical setting which can at times seem overwhelming, is that you know more than you think. The hard part about clinical is not having lab values memorized, but instead dealing with the roller coaster of emotions you will face from frustration over some patients really not wanting to meet with you to complete sadness after a patient has passed away to the joy of seeing others you have been calculating a TPN for as they were in a drug induced coma, transition to a step down unit and perhaps even be discharged.
Good luck!
It is hard to see people refuse dietary education when it’s obvious they could be helped by the information. This is one of the main reasons why I want to work in private practice and/or outpatient treatment.
I am starting in foodservice tomorrow. I have zero experience in the world of foodservice, so I am a little nervous but very excited. I will start clinical toward the end of November. Looking forward to hearing about the upcoming 1200 hours
. Audiobooks are indeed fabulous.
Very cool! What kind of facility is your food service rotation in?
I’m in my 6th week of my internship now (just finished hospital food service and starting community hospital setting) but i love your tip on audiobooks! I commute an hour and a half to my rotations so I need something to keep me entertained
Definitely pick up some audio books at your local library! Good luck in your hospital rotation.