The first week flew by, but at the same time I feel like I've been an intern forever. Weird how those two feelings can coexist, right? All in all it was a great week, but I'll break it down day by day.
Monday:
I've been waiting for day 1 of this internship pretty much since April when I found out where I was matched. No pressure internship day 1....The whole week was orientation. We met in a building on campus at the University of Houston every day. Luckily our hours were not during rush hour. Commuting's not too bad when the traffic has already cleared in the morning! We started the day by introducing ourselves to each other and our internship director, Dr. Scott. There are ten interns total, so we'll definitely get to know each other pretty well. One of the other interns is also a BYU grad who was a TA for one of my classes during my undergrad. It was nice to have a familiar face and a built in friend from the get go :) The other interns are really nice and friendly. Two interns are from Denver, one from Chicago, one from Costa Rica, one from Louisiana, and five from Houston (including myself). For a few of the other interns, this is their first time coming to Texas ever! Unfortunately Houston in July doesn't necessarily make the best impression...hopefully they can sweat it out! Day 1 was mostly the boring orientation stuff. You know, the required overview of policies and procedures. Even though the material was a bit dry, it was nice to get started and get a feel for what the internship will require.
Tuesday:
Another day at UH. Tuesday we really got into the assignments and projects that would be coming up for the week. Our first big assignment for the week was a pathophysiology presentation due Friday. We were each assigned a disease or surgery and were assigned to create a powerpoint presentation and an educational handout on our disease state. Mine was maple syrup urine disease. Sounds fun, right? We also reviewed how to calculate enteral and parenteral nutrition, aka tube feedings and nutrition support through your veins. After being out of school for over a year, the review was much needed :) We were also assigned a case study due at the end of the week. No need to miss having homework anymore!
Wednesday:
Wednesday we started the day with a review of the nutrition care process. We also started on an assignment using the Academy's Evidence Analysis Library. This assignment was basically to practice taking an in depth look at research articles. Apparently it's a requirement to do an assignment like this in order to get the program accredited. Wednesday night we also had dinner with the class of interns that is finishing up the internship this week. They cooked fajitas for us (yum!) and we were able to mingle. It was a great chance to pick their brains about specific rotations. I was able to talk to an intern that went to my same clinical I rotation. She gave me some good tips about parking and spoke really highly of the hospital and dietitians that she worked with. Fun fact, I went to high school with one of the interns who is finishing the internship this week. We were in marching band together and everything. Shout out to Margaret...aka Margart :)
Thursday:
Thursday morning was dedicated to finishing the research project. Luckily my partner and I are both living in the Woodlands, so we were able to finish the project at her house and get a later start to the day. We presented our research findings and called it a day! Gotta love the days where you spend longer driving than on campus :)
Friday:
Friday was "graduation" day for the intern group that we met on Wednesday night. We returned the favor and cooked for their graduation brunch. It was fun to be in the kitchen and get to know the other interns better. A couple of the interns also took a field trip to the UH bookstore. It was a hot, sweaty walk to the bookstore. Thanks Houston! Then it was back to my aunt's house where my cousin Ashley and I spent the afternoon in the pool, otherwise known as the best decision of my day. Houston summers are a lot more bearable when you have a pool to spend it in.
It was a great week. I really enjoyed getting to meet the other interns. I actually really enjoyed taking notes during our reviews and lectures. Nerd alert, I know! I loved being a student a lot more than working, so it was nice to be back in an academic environment. One of the best parts was that it was casual dress all week! We also got done early enough that I could miss bad traffic hours. Sometimes it's the little things.
Monday I start my Clinical I rotation at Ben Taub. I'm excited and a little nervous to start with clinical. It'll be hard at first, but I know that I'll learn a lot. I think it will be a good foundation for the rest of my rotations. 1 week closer to being a dietitian!
Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures in future weeks so that this blog is a little more interesting :)
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
How I Ended up Back in Houston
I gave in and joined the blogging world! My purpose in creating this blog is to document my experience as a dietetic intern for the next 7ish months. I know myself too well and I know that I won't journal/document my time as an intern very well. Hopefully this will help!
This first post will give a quick run down on the process to get a dietetic internship and become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), or the title formerly known as Registered Dietitian (RD).
I've lost track of how many times I've explained my internship. I'll start at the beginning and hopefully avoid further questioning :) I graduated with my Bachelor's in Dietetics from Brigham Young University (BYU) in April 2014. I didn't get matched with an internship, so instead I worked as a Diet Tech at the Intermountain Medical Center until the next spring match for internships.
Matching? Internships? Sounds confusing and fun right? BYU's dietetics program was mostly learning in the classroom setting and resulted in my Bachelor's degree. Before you can practice as a dietitian you have to pass the national registration exam, but before you're eligible to take the exam, you have to complete an internship.
The question I get the most is, but you did an internship at Michigan State that summer, doesn't that count? Although that internship was super fun and great experience, unfortunately it doesn't count. The internship required before the registration exam must be accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It requires a certain number of practice hours and prepares you to take the national exam.
Now the matching process...Dietetic internship spots are filled through computer matching. All dietetic graduates seeking an internship complete a centralized online application, choose which programs to apply to, and rank those programs in order of preference. The internship programs rank their applicants in order of preference based on the application criteria. The computer then matches you with a program...or not...you get one program or no programs. Unfortunately the matching rate is 50% nationally. I definitely learned the importance of applying to the right programs in the right order.
I applied for internships my last semester of school at BYU to start the next fall, but I wasn't matched. I think I applied to programs that were too competitive or ranked them in the wrong order. As my program director told me, sometimes you're a qualified applicant, but it just doesn't work out.
So I applied again! I applied to completely different programs than the previous year. I also had almost a year of clinical experience from my job with Intermountain, which helped a lot! I applied to about 6 programs, with the University of Houston as my first choice. I grew up in Houston and love Texas, but never intended to go back to Houston. The program at the University of Houston was just too perfect for my interests. Most internships are 10 months-a year, but mine is only 7 months long!
I am so excited to get started! I'll have about a week of orientation at the university, then I start with my clinical rotations! My first 5 weeks will be at Ben Taub and then I'll be at Texas Children's Hospital. Hopefully it all goes well!
This first post will give a quick run down on the process to get a dietetic internship and become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), or the title formerly known as Registered Dietitian (RD).
I've lost track of how many times I've explained my internship. I'll start at the beginning and hopefully avoid further questioning :) I graduated with my Bachelor's in Dietetics from Brigham Young University (BYU) in April 2014. I didn't get matched with an internship, so instead I worked as a Diet Tech at the Intermountain Medical Center until the next spring match for internships.
Matching? Internships? Sounds confusing and fun right? BYU's dietetics program was mostly learning in the classroom setting and resulted in my Bachelor's degree. Before you can practice as a dietitian you have to pass the national registration exam, but before you're eligible to take the exam, you have to complete an internship.
The question I get the most is, but you did an internship at Michigan State that summer, doesn't that count? Although that internship was super fun and great experience, unfortunately it doesn't count. The internship required before the registration exam must be accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It requires a certain number of practice hours and prepares you to take the national exam.
Now the matching process...Dietetic internship spots are filled through computer matching. All dietetic graduates seeking an internship complete a centralized online application, choose which programs to apply to, and rank those programs in order of preference. The internship programs rank their applicants in order of preference based on the application criteria. The computer then matches you with a program...or not...you get one program or no programs. Unfortunately the matching rate is 50% nationally. I definitely learned the importance of applying to the right programs in the right order.
I applied for internships my last semester of school at BYU to start the next fall, but I wasn't matched. I think I applied to programs that were too competitive or ranked them in the wrong order. As my program director told me, sometimes you're a qualified applicant, but it just doesn't work out.
So I applied again! I applied to completely different programs than the previous year. I also had almost a year of clinical experience from my job with Intermountain, which helped a lot! I applied to about 6 programs, with the University of Houston as my first choice. I grew up in Houston and love Texas, but never intended to go back to Houston. The program at the University of Houston was just too perfect for my interests. Most internships are 10 months-a year, but mine is only 7 months long!
I am so excited to get started! I'll have about a week of orientation at the university, then I start with my clinical rotations! My first 5 weeks will be at Ben Taub and then I'll be at Texas Children's Hospital. Hopefully it all goes well!
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