What?
Together with my classmates Sharon and Carla, I put together an education session on the topic of Personal and Professional Balance (Self-Care), and we presented our tutorial to our fellow future dietitians in FNH 380 in the last class of the semester.
So What?
The timing of this presentation was very appropriate for the topic of balance and self-care, and it was interesting to be talking about placing high priority on your own well-being during this hectic time of year when so many students tend to lose track of the things that contribute to their own health. Because of this, Sharon, Carla, and I worked hard to make sure that our tutorial had a fun, light-hearted feel while really emphasizing the importance of self-care.
We found scientific research on the topic, and we were surprised to learn that burnout is relatively common in dietitians. Perhaps this is related to the limited amount of self-care-related resources available to dietitians; when we searched the Dietitians of Canada website, we struggled to come up with anything directly discussing self-care and work-life balance. This prompted us to contact Sonya Kupka, the DC Regional Executive Director for British Columbia. She had some valuable insights into this, saying that perhaps the lack of discussion on this topic could be related to how dietitians have historically worked (ie. as a giving profession, not taking much time for themselves). She pondered whether the tips that dietitians give to their patients for effectively managing stress and prioritizing physical activity are things that dietitians put into action in their own personal lives as well. We had an interesting discussion with the class about this, and got to hear their reactions to the idea that RDs need to practice what they preach.
We also found a self-assessment tool for evaluating one’s own personal vulnerability to stress, and had the class fill it out. This was a good guiding tool for understanding the main factors that can affect a person’s ability to handle stress.
The most valuable part of our presentation may have been the video that we decided to make. We felt that it would be helpful for students to hear from dietitians themselves about techniques for practicing self-care and balance; and so we asked several practicing dietitians to participate in a video and answer the question, “How do you practice self-care and work-life balance?” I feel that we gained a lot from making this video, from the task of contacting dietitians to request their participation, to communicating and coordinating meeting times to film video clips, to discussing the finer points of self-care with them, to the editing and uploading side of things, this was an opportunity to build various useful skills. And in the end, we came up with a video that I think was very helpful for our classmates!
Now What?
Beyond the skills that I built from helping to facilitate this workshop, I have also been reminded of the importance of self-care and the techniques that make it happen. I feel better equipped to practice self-care and balance in my own life (although, maybe that has to do with the fact that I’m on Christmas holidays now), and I hope to be able to carry that forward into other busy times that are sure to come.
I also found myself, as we went through this assignment, wondering about how I can work to make an impact in bringing better self-care resources to the community of Registered Dietitians. I haven’t figured out how yet, but it seems like there is truly a demand for it and I would be interested in being a part of making that happen.