Week 15

This was my last week with the sports dietitian at UH. This rotation flew by! Part of it was because it was only 4 weeks instead of 5 weeks like my clinical rotations were. Time also went by fast because there were lots of things to do and I felt pretty busy most of my time here. I absolutely loved this rotation. I'm sad it was so short and I have to move on.

I created some more educational materials. Allison and I also experimented with shake recipes. I've been making the same ones pretty much every day: vanilla peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, and a fruit one. This week we made some pretty yummy ones: butterfinger, cookies 'n cream, and snickers. It almost made me wish I was on a weight gain regimen haha. We ran to Sam's Club again. I always love the outings! I've also been helping Allison hand out pre-practice snacks to the football team, as well as travel snack bags/meals for away games. I really enjoy the personal interaction and talking to people so I love stuff like that! That's another reason why I liked doing the bod pod assessments. I got to talk to a bunch of strangers while they waited for their turn to take the test. (I'm also that weirdo that starts conversations in checkout line at the store).

I also sat in on a counseling appointment with Tara. One of the track coaches wanted Tara to meet with one of the sprinters about weight loss after doing her bod pod assessment. Tara even let me create the sample menu for the athlete. It was fun! Now if I could just get Tara to take me to her appointments with the Rockets...

Since it was my last week, I was mostly just finishing up projects and helping Allison with new things that came up. I really just can't get over how fun this rotation was! Even though I had some pretty long and early days, I loved it. Definitely encouraged my plans to be a sports dietitian in the future.

I also had the best ending to my last week! Confession, I don't love Halloween. It's pretty much my least favorite holiday. The Saturday after my last day at UH was Halloween. Instead of finding something to do that I wasn't all that excited about, Ashlee and I went to the UH vs Vanderbilt game. Ashlee also did a sports rotation at UH athletics during our internship. Allison hooked us up with tickets and sideline passes for the game! We had good seats and spent some time watching from the sidelines. Allison also showed us around the locker room and we helped her set up halftime snacks for the team! It was so much fun! Even though I couldn't go to a BYU game this year, it was at least fun to be able to see some college football live.

The view from our free seats!

Ashlee and I on the sidelines with Allison

Week 14

My time at UH is halfway done! Since I don't remember the specifics for each day, I'll just talk about my week as a whole instead!

I'll start with a fun thing I did this week. I joined the CPSDA! That stands for the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association. I took advantage of their cheaper student rate while I was still an intern. I'm just trying to take advantage of everything that might help me become a sports dietitian.

I created more educational materials this week. I've also been helping Tara with a few projects in the cafe, like taking inventory and ordering. I figured I might as well put my food service background to good use. I ran to the store with Tara one morning too. I did more Bod Pod tests this week for the track team and to finish up baseball. It's so funny to see the difference between the different athletes. The baseball guys didn't care of anyone watched them take the test. They'd strip down to their spandex pants and just all hang out in the bod pod room and make fun of their friends while they were in the machine. The girls would make sure no one else was in the room, close the door, and didn't want anyone watching them. In order to reduce surface area for the test, they weren't allowed to wear jewelry during the test. I had to ask so many boys to take jewelry off. Felt weird to ask. I think every other girl had a belly button ring too. Those just seem like they'd be painful. Overall I think my favorite question was from a guy on the track team. He seemed super nervous for the test. After I explained how it would work, he asked, "is it going to fill up with water while I'm in there." I tried so hard not to laugh. No wonder he looked terrified!

We had another intern meeting with Claudia. We talked about resumes and caught up with everyone. It is definitely convenient to already be on campus for these meetings.

My big project for the week was a cooking demo for the track team. I planned the recipes, created handouts, and basically did it all by myself. It was a lot of fun! I went shopping with some donated HEB giftcards from the cafe. I went to an HEB close to UH. Tara told me I wasn't allowed to go to the HEB on Scott street because I'd get shot, so I went to a different one. When I first pulled up, I didn't want to get out of my car though because the entire parking lot was covered in crows! I felt like I was in "The Birds." It was super creepy. The store was pretty deserted since it was early in the morning. I did keep running into the same fireman who flirted with me on every other aisle while he shopped with his fire department.

I ended up doing two back to back cooking demos. The first was for a group of women's sprinters and the second was for men's/women's throwers from the track team. Let me complain for moment about this. The track coaches tried to cancel the second cooking demo the day of, which is super rude. Allison told him no, they would have to come. Then, the coach pops his head in during my first cooking demo and says, "we canceled that for the thrower right?" I told him no, I was still planning on it because they didn't give us enough notice. He said, "well I canceled it this morning." I told him I've been planning this for at least a week and did my shopping 3 days ago. He felt like an idiot and they came. It all worked out, but I swear men just think food appears or something.

We did the same recipes for both groups. My goal was just to choose easy and healthy recipes that a college student might actually make. First I made a salsa chicken in the crockpot. It was an easy recipe that even hid some veggies in it. We also made a black bean salad and a healthy dessert! The dessert was called banana peanut butter smudgies. You basically mash up a ripe banana with peanut butter and freeze it between two graham crackers. It's like a healthy ice cream sandwich! It went really well. They seemed to really like the recipes and I got a lot of really good feedback in the days following from the athletes and coaches. And now pictures because that's why people like these blog things right?

My grocery store haul 

The sprinters enjoying the recipes

The throwers

All ready for the cooking demo

The yummy food!

Everybody loved it!

Week 13

Confession: I'm writing these posts in retrospect. I've already forgotten so much, but I hope that I can remember all of the important things.

Monday:

I started the day with making shakes again. I think this will be pretty routine. I don't mind! I enjoy experimenting with the recipes. I also helped Allison prepare mealtime educational materials. Football always eats lunch and dinner together and Allison really wants lots of educational materials around in the dining area. I'm becoming very familiar with Microsoft publisher and the laminating machine.

Tuesday:

Another day, another morning of making shakes! Remember how the old dietitian resigned? Today her temporary replacement started! Tara used to be the sports dietitian at UH and they brought her back to fill in part time until they hire a full time replacement. She's really cool! She has two cute little kids and she also works part time for the Houston Rockets. More than anything, I feel like my internship has been good for networking. Allison mostly just handles football and volleyball, so Tara will run the cafe and handle all of the other sports. Football is definitely the most demanding, and the most fun I think. If football likes what you do as a dietitian, you're pretty much guaranteed to keep your job for a while. I learned how to use the Bod Pod machine today. In Tara's words, "a monkey could run that machine." No pressure, right? The Bod Pod is a machine that is used to measure body composition. It tells you your percent body fat, how many pounds of fat, etc. It calculates this based on your height, weight, and how much air you displace in the machine (picture below). Running the bod pod machine is kind of hilarious. It really is super easy to use, thank goodness. I guess I am at least as smart as a monkey after all. What a relief! All of the athletes that were being measured today were from the baseball team. I have to calibrate the machine, weigh the athlete, and then they sit in the machine for 2-3 measurements. All they have to do is sit as still as possible while the machine takes the measurement. There's even a panic button in there if you get claustrophobic. Luckily no one had to use it while I was there. The machine uses your body surface area in its calculations so the goal is basically to be as close to being naked you can be while actually having clothes on. They even had to wear one of those spandex Under Armour skull cap things. Of course they look ridiculous while they're sitting in there. It kind of looks like they're preparing to blast off into space. Lots of snapchats and pictures were taken by their friends. What do you expect from a bunch of college age boys? Working the bod pod made me feel old. I had to get all of their information including their birth dates for the records. I'll say it again, time is so weird.

The Bod Pod Machine

Wednesday: 

Allison and I started the day by making a run to Sam's Club. She needed to buy more snacks to prepare for the football game this coming weekend. I love food shopping, so I was happy to come along with her. We also bought some new breakfast items for the weight gain football guys. Below is a picture of most of our cart while loading it into the cart. I had fun maneuvering it around the store and I only ran into Allison once! I did more bod pod tests today to try to finish up baseball and made some more weight gain shakes!

Thursday:

Besides smoothies, I also helped a student athlete with one of her projects. She and her group were assigned some kind of marketing project and their idea was to create healthy lunchable type items to sell in vending machines. I spent some time putting together a list of ideas. I honestly don't remember what else I did this day, but I'm sure it involved creating some educational materials and laminating them :) 

Friday:

The end of another week! Crazy! It's been fun to be at UH while their football team is undefeated. They've had such a great season! Everyone around the athletic building just seems really happy and pumped. I wish BYU played UH in Houston again this year. I could definitely go to that game! Unfortunately I won't be able to go to a single game this season. Still depressed about it. I didn't stay as late I normally do today because I had to go help set up for the young single adult conference at church this weekend. I somehow got roped into planning the games for tonight. I'll be glad when it's over. Luckily they'll be playing the BYU vs Cincinnati game on a projector during the evening. That was the only reason I agreed to come/help. :)

Week 12

This week was the start of a new rotation. This rotation is the one I have been most excited for! I'll be working with the sports dietitian at the UH athletic department for the next month. Being a sports dietitian is my current dream job, so this rotation will be perfect for me. I'm excited to learn a lot and see what it's like.

Monday:

I came to UH at an interesting time. The current sports dietitian has recently resigned and her last day of work will be tomorrow. I'll be spending most of my time working with Allison. She's an intern with the athletic department. She's an RD, but she's trying to get more sports related hours in order to become a sports dietitian. I'm really grateful that she was willing to take a dietetic intern, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to do a sports rotation. Since it's my first day, I spent some time orienting myself. They also just opened up a new cafe for the athletes. It literally just opened today. I think I came at the craziest time possible, which I think means I'll be really busy so that's good news! I spent some time today analyzing some data from surveys Allison had given the football team. It mostly included questions about their eating habits and preferences so that she can better provide meals and snacks for them. There is also a group of about 10-15 football players that need to gain weight (per the coaches/strength and conditioning). I worked today on compiling their preferences for special weight gain snacks so that Allison and I can put together special snack bags for them a couple times per week.

Tuesday:

Another thing that we're doing for the weight gain guys is making special weight gain shakes/smoothies. Each shake has about 1000-1200 calories. Some of the guys drink 2 per day. I spent some time in the weight room this morning making the shakes with their fancy blenders. I also started making some educational materials today. I'm making snack posters that show examples of different calorie level snacks. It's like making educational materials for children really. The less words and more pictures, the better. I'm also worked on the cost/nutrient analysis of the special weight gain snacks and shakes. There's also a supply closet with all of the snacks and Gatorade shakes that are for football. I took some time working on inventory in there so we could order more.

Wednesday:

I don't know if I mentioned that I'm going to be grading papers for an undergraduate professor at UH because I'm not busy enough...Really I'm doing it because I'll actually make a little money doing this. This morning I met with Carla quickly since I was already on campus. She's super nice! She'll be a fun professor to grade for. A big project I'm working on for Allison right now is making travel books for football with information and tips for eating on the road. Mostly it involves a lot of laminating since the content is already done. Ah the life of an intern. We also had our intern meeting with Claudia. I like getting together with the other interns. It's always fun to hear how everyone's rotations are going.

Thursday:

I had a day off. What? Today was game day and Allison was at the hotel with the team all day and didn't need any help. Since they haven't hired a new dietitian yet, I just had the day off. Can't complain about getting a little break.

Friday:

I spent most of today finishing up the travel books. Mostly I just like working and talking with Allison. She's really cool and knows a lot about sports nutrition, even though she's still learning herself. I can't believe I've already finished one week here! I'm only here for a month and I know it'll just fly by.

Fun Facts from my First Week:

• The parking situation at this rotation is sketch. No other way to describe it. UH is not in a very nice part of town and since I'm on campus, parking is a nightmare anyways. I don't have a parking pass which further complicates things. I park on the side streets by the McDonald's next to the athletic building. No worries it's just in the third ward of Houston. There's really interesting people that live there, roaming dogs, condemned/abandoned buildings, and piles of trash in the streets. Seriously considering purchasing some pepper spray. I try to avoid coming and going during the dark hours.
• The dress code for this rotation is the best. Just when I thought it couldn't get better than wearing scrubs at Ben Taub, I start this rotation and get to wear workout clothes every day. 
• Being at UH is weird. Let me tell you why. Their mascot is also the Cougar! It's so weird to hear people saying "Go Coogs" in the hall. And yes, that is how they spell "Coogs," with two o's. Who does that? BYU's got it right with the "Go Cougs." Also one of UH's colors is red. I had to go out and buy red shirts to wear for this rotation. True blue fans don't own red. It just feels wrong. 
• I love football snacks. I have access to free snacks in the cafe and Allison's office all the time. It's awesome. I'm currently obsessed with the dried tart cherries. They're like candy!

It's going to be a great month!

Week 11

How the heck is it already my last week at Texas Children's?! Time is so weird.

Monday:

Today I was in the NICU with Laura. We attended rounds as usual. Laura is hilarious and I'm glad I got to spend some time with her my last week. Today was also the best day ever. I took my fate into my own hands. My interest lies in sports nutrition. Dream job? Division I collegiate sports dietitian. Think about it....Awesome job, right? Unfortunately it's not an "entry-level" position per se. Anyways, back to my day and my fate-taking. Roberta Anding is a very well known sports dietitian in the world of sports dietetics. She worked for the Texans for 12 years, works for the Astros, Rice, and Texas Children's. She is awesome and knows a lot of people in the field. I wasn't able to have a full day with her due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, I set up a meeting with her during lunch to ask her some questions, talk, and mostly just meet her for networking purposes. I'm thinking long-term here people! She was the coolest. Seriously. I'm convinced she knows everything. She answered A LOT of my questions about how to get from my current state to my dream job. She gave me very specific suggestions and names of people to get in contact with. It was so fun to talk with her. I think (hope) I made a good impression? It definitely made me more excited about all of it and the possibilities. I wish it would have worked out to spend more time with her while I was at TCH, but I'll take what I can get.

Tuesday:

Today I was back in the NICU with Laura. Just the usual preterm baby stuff plus more practice calculating infant TPN. I've also been working this past week on finishing up my case study presentation. I spent a lot of time working on some calculations on my case study baby's feedings. I wanted to show the changes in his feeding regimen. It changed slightly pretty much every day.

Wednesday:

Today was (surprise) not in the NICU! I would've been in the NICU all week, but my schedule has changed a little bit because of scheduling conflicts, dietitians having babies, dietitians finding new jobs and leaving, etc. Today I was in the allergy/immunology clinic with Lin Lin. A huge perk of today was free breakfast and lunch. I seem to end up in the clinics that have catered food all the time. Not complaining! I've always thought allergies were interesting because my brother was born with a ton of them (thanks Nick!). I'm glad I got to spend a day with Lin Lin learning more about allergies. It was all really interesting. I also learned about allergy tests where they place a sample of the food being tested in a patch directly on your skin. I've always done the skin prick tests so I thought that was interesting. None of the tests are 100% accurate, so that's reassuring...

Thursday:

Today was another day in the NICU with Amy, but more importantly it was my case study presentation! Unfortunately I had to change venues because the room they usually use was already booked. The room I actually presented in wasn't as convenient, so not as many dietitians attended. It was a smaller, more intimate group to present to, which is fine with me. I think it went really well! I got really good feedback on my evaluations and the dietitians seemed interested, especially the ones that aren't regularly in the NICU.

Friday:

My last day! I spent my last day with Nidia in the NICU, which only makes sense since she is my main preceptor. We attended pediatric grand rounds, which is a lecture that they do once a month (don't quote me on that time frame). This one was by a physician from Stanford University's Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. She was actually a double doctor (MD and PhD). Pretty cool, right? It was really interesting, especially after being in the allergy/immunology clinic earlier in the week. We also attended NICU rounds and went over my evaluations. Long story short, everybody loved me :) Crazy that I'm already done with all of my clinical rotations! Some of the other interns haven't even started their clinical yet. I really enjoyed Texas Children's, and I'm especially glad that I was able to complete my clinicals at two completely different healthcare environments. Here's to the next rotation! Oh, and some pictures :)

My ID badge that I had to return for security reasons or something like that...

Me in front of the hospital! It was so nice outside on my last day!

Week 10

Week 4 at Texas Children's. The end is starting to feel a little more real. Two weeks is nothing! I'll be done here before I know it.

Monday:

Today I was with Shelley. She covers the pediatric respiratory care unit. I believe it's a step down from the ICU. Don't quote me on that. She also works with a lot of developmentally delayed kids. She is really friendly and bubbly. She is so good with the kids! I went over the competency since it was a new specialty. It's so interesting to learn all of the differences between the different types of patients. Depending on the patient's medical problem, history, and current medical picture, it changes how you estimate their needs and even which weight you use to calculate. I think the best take away from my clinical rotations is developing my clinical judgement. There are so many things to learn from textbooks and the classroom, but until you put things into practice, you really don't understand how all of that knowledge applies to patients. You're probably thinking, "Duh Megan. I could've told you that." It just makes sense, right? Shelley's also really good at helping me feel involved and answering my questions. Definitely enjoyed my day with her!

Tuesday:

Today was another day with Shelley! She's still fun to work with on day 2, so that was good :) We attended rounds for her patients. I think I like rounds at Ben Taub better. It's either because they were more interesting, or there were more young, attractive residents leading rounds. We'll never know for sure...We also did mid-upper arm circumference on one of Shelley's patients. We were pretty sure her recorded weights were unreliable, so we decided to take some measurements of our own to determine how malnourished she was. It was really sad how tiny she was!

Wednesday:

I was back in the NICU today, but I was with Lindsay. There are seriously so many different dietitians in this hospital. I'm positive I won't meet all of them before I leave. We attended rounds. I always add to my list of "words I've never heard of" while attending rounds. The physicians are always throwing around procedures or disease names that are unfamiliar to me. I also got some more practice calculating baby tub feeds/TPN today. It's insane how tiny the numbers are for those premies. I also learned that my case study baby had a seizure over night. He just can't catch a break!

Thursday:

Today I was with Luci in the outpatient special needs clinic. Outpatient always seems a little slower paced to me, which can be nice sometimes but is usually more boring to me. Luci was fun to work with and answered a lot of questions I had. I've enjoyed working with (most of) the outpatient dietitians, but I don't know if outpatient would be as enjoyable for me. I suppose I'd enjoy it more if I had a relationship with the patients. Plus, I haven't been as involved in the assessments for outpatients, so I guess it makes sense that I haven't liked it as much.

I also ended my day by going to another high school football game. I know, you're thinking I'm a weirdo, but these games are community events! Plus, it was homecoming so I went with all of the Weaver's. There are so many traditions around the homecoming game. It was fun to watch them from the stands instead of on the field with the marching band.

Friday:

I switched things up again today, surprise...surprise...Today I was with Suzie who handles the lung transplant patients. Again, another really fun dietitian to work with. I feel like a broken record, but I like most people I guess. Ask anyone and they'll tell you I love talking to strangers and meeting new people. Some people might call that weird, but I call it fun. I've also really enjoyed being able to see how nutrition interventions change between all of these patient populations. It keeps me on my toes and always learning.

Another week done! After I was done at the hospital, I met up with Ashlee, also an intern. We met up at the Memorial City Mall, which was awesome! It was fun to walk around the mall and relax after another week. It's a pretty nice mall! They have an ice skating rink and some cool stores. We had to walk through the American Girl Doll store of course. It made me wish I was a kid again! We headed from the mall to a Malaysian restaurant in China town where a bunch of friends from church were meeting for the monthly restaurant rush. They choose a different restaurant every month. It's a pretty fun idea! I even ate a tiny octopus. I wouldn't recommend it.