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!
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