For two years I volunteered as an activities coordinator at the Inpatient Eating Disorders Program at St. Paul’s Hospital. My role was to implement post mealtime anxiety management activities using arts, crafts and games for the patients in the unit. I interacted with a range of clients with diverse needs and  I began to learn how to support clients with high levels of anxiety. Each week I would bring a new activity to the unit and we would sit in a group and complete the activity immediately after dinner time, which is a time of high anxiety and stress for these clients. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to shadow the dietitian on the unit and she allowed me to sit in on one-on-one meetings she had with each patient. This opportunity exposed me to specific medical and nutrition terminology that will be important for me to know and understand in the future. For example, I was able to learn the basics of nutritional support such as the assessment of tube feeding requirements and meal plan modification, since each client has differing needs. Although I still have much to learn in this area, this volunteer work was a good way to start this learning.  Shadowing Kara in the Eating Disorders Unit helped me start to think about the nutrition care competencies that I will be working on. Although I am not an expert in any of them yet, I have started to observe these competencies in action, which will help with future learning.

One of the competencies that I have decided to focus on for the 2014/2015 academic year is identifying signs and symptoms of nutrient deficiencies and excesses. The reason I would like to focus on this one is because, although I had a small amount of exposure to this in my volunteering at St. Paul’s, I am not confident in this area and would like more knowledge and practice. I intend to contact the new dietitian on the unit and ask if it would be possible for me to speak with her about this particular competency.

The following competencies were touched on during my volunteering in the Eating Disorders Unit:

Nutrition Care

Obtain and interpret food and nutrient intake data –> I have not mastered this competency, but this volunteer role allowed me to begin the learning process. The nurses and dietitian showed me how the information was stored and briefly discussed how the data was to be interpreted

Develop or modify meal plans

Identify the roles of team members in supporting the implementation of a care plan.

Identify strategies to communicate nutrition care plan with client, inter-professional team and relevant others

Identify necessary changes to nutrition care plan