The Climax

(6/19-2/2) MNT

I Have Skills

I am now over halfway and have learned majority of the content and met majority of the competencies. Through practicing these last few weeks, I have gained a handful of transferable skills to carry on to my first job: critical thinking, teamwork, and professional writing. I find myself critically thinking each time I deal with a different case. From screening the patient, all the way to charting on them, I am thinking about why the labs are what they are, why they are receiving a certain medication, what form of nutrition is going to best treat their diagnosis, etc. Working alongside a group of dietitians requires teamwork and I make an effort to help the dietitians if we are short and backed up. As a member of healthcare, professional writing is important to be able to communicate and document appropriately. Not only did I obtain this skill in my community rotation, but MNT has only strengthened this skill further. Every patient I see, I must document to make all of the other practitioners aware of the patient’s nutritional status and treatment. Not only are these useful skills in any job position but they will be very beneficial to my success as an entry-level dietitian.

We have to remember, there will always be room for growth, and I am still learning about myself each and every day. Skills I need to further improve include: active listening, adaptability, and communication. Active listening & adaptability go hand in hand in that I need to work toward actively hearing the patient out in order to adapt and meet them where they are. I was getting better at this towards the end of my community rotation, but it is something I still need to work on in the hospital. For example, I was giving diabetes education to a patient here at Jewish. His health literacy is a barrier to his behavior change and I struggled to adapt to this and provide him with the appropriate education. Instead, I gave the entire diabetes education, including carb counting, and it went right over his head. I should have started with explaining foods that have carbohydrates and only going as far as to eating four fist size servings of those at each meal, rather than including a lot of numbers and going into detail. Another skill I must strengthen is communication. I tend to be on the quieter side during ICU rounds and only speak up when asked a question. This will come with more practice and exposure; however, I need to become more confident to be able to speak up in front of the interdisciplinary team. On the other hand, I am celebrating the milestone that I can walk into an ICU room alone with confidence to check on a patient or their tube feed pump.

Be a “YES” Person

Speaking of tube feeds, I have finally reached the climax of my MNT rotation. I got the opportunity to place a tube, and it happened to be on my case study patient. Because he was in the ICU with acute respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation for greater than 72 hours, he needed enteral nutrition support (Width & Reinhard, 2021). My preceptor was there when I needed her, but I was able to place the tube mostly on my own with guidance. In doing so, I met & distinguished CRDN 3.5 which is to explain the steps involved and observe the placement of nasogastric feeding tubes; if available, assist in the process of placing nasogastric feeding tubes. I am happy to say that it went better than expected and my preceptor was overjoyed. My advice: be a “yes” person; be willing to try new things and you might just surprise yourself.

Written by Brianna Starr, UK Dietetic Intern

References

Width, M., & Reinhard T. (2021). The essential pocket guide for clinical nutrition (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.