Week 1: Orientation

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 :)