As dietitians we will be doing quite a bit of writing, whether it be nutrition and health articles, columns in newspapers, or charting. It is important to start practicing consumer writing skills early in our education. As part of the 381 Dietetic Practice class we were introduced to the skills needed for writing consumer articles. In this assignment we chose a dietitian in the community and she gave us a topic to write about. My partner and I worked with Natasha Barber, a Registered Dietitian and Registered Clinical Counsellor, and our topic was coconut oil. In the article we discussed three health claims that have been made about coconut oil and we delved into the facts surrounding these claims. We also compared the cost of coconut oil and olive oil, to illustrate to consumers the large price difference between coconut oil and other vegetable oils. Finally, we tied everything together with some take home messages and key considerations to make when choosing a cooking oil. After writing the first draft of our paper, two classmates were assigned to give us feedback on our article. We did the same for their consumer article, and we spent some time in class discussing the papers. This was an extremely helpful exercise, and we took these edits and feedback into careful consideration when making our second draft. Upon completion, we sent our final draft to Natasha so that she could provide us with feedback for the future. Please find attached our first and final drafts of the article. We went through several edits, which was an excellent exercise for future writing.
Welcome!
Hi! I am Laurel Burton and September, 2014 marks a new and exciting year for me. This is my first year in the UBC Dietetic’s program, as well as my debut as a blogger. I am so excited to start the next three years of my nutrition education. Stay tuned for more posts as I gain knowledge and experience in the field of Dietetics!
Self Evaluation: End of Term
I have taken a few moments to reflect on my first year in the UBC Dietetics Program. Please see the link below to read about my thoughts and experiences thus far. I am so happy with how the first semester has gone and I am very excited to continue on in the program.
Self Assessment and Learning Experience II: Activities Coordinator – Inpatient Eating Disorders Program
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
Self Assessment and Learning Experience I: HIV/AIDS & SALOME Study
In preparation for applying to the UBC Dietetic Program, I did a lot of volunteering, work and job shadowing which all contributed to my current knowledge of the profession. While all my experiences have been educational, there are a few that stick out in my mind as extremely valuable and which have contributed greatly to my success in the program. About 15 months ago I began volunteering in the Downtown Eastside at the Cross- Town addictions clinic on Hastings and Abbott Street. At the position I work alongside the social workers, nurses and dietitian. At the addictions clinic, a study was being done to assess long-term opioid medication effectiveness (SALOME), and my role was to visit with the clients before and after self-injectoin, to make coffee and to complete any tasks the nurses, social workers and dietitian needed done. Within this role, I was introduced Jen, the dietitian that I volunteered with on a few occasions. She works in both the Immunodeficiency Clinic at St. Paul’s and at the Addictions Clinic. I shadowed Jen at the addictions clinic and helped with a few lunchtime meal programs, where food would be purchased for the study participants. I also had the opportunity to speak with Jen about her position as a Providence Health dietitian, and she explained her various roles within the Immunodeficiency clinic. I also helped out at a cooking class she holds at the Immunodeficiency Clinic, where I helped HIV+ participants prepare and cook healthy meals. This cooking program was designed to help low income patients living with HIV to learn about healthy food and to learn important cooking skills.
This volunteering experience with Providence Health has helped expose me to an area of dietetics in which I am particularly interested. I would like to work within the Downtown Eastside as an advocate for this marginalized population, and to help find ways to create sustainable meal programs that offer nutritious, safe and acceptable food to the community. The importance of nutrition advocacy has been forefront in my work at the Cross-Town clinic, and I have learned a lot about increased nutrition needs for chronic disease sufferers. Jen helps educate participants about food and healthy eating, and during my volunteering I was able to witness this. In addition, I also learned that nutrition education can be met with some resistance, so it is important to present information in a way that meets the specific needs of each patient. In an environment where healthy eating is not necessarily a priority, educating patients about nutrition requires first gaining trust and creating a safe environment. I think that this volunteer opportunity has afforded me opportunities to work on the competencies that are required for successful completion of the dietetics program and it certainly made me more confident applying to the program. Specifically, I have been able to hone my communication and collaboration skills in this setting, because it is vital to establish trust and rapport with participants if they are to feel comfortable in your presence. Since this is a marginalized population it was very important for me be respectful and to treat everyone with the utmost digit and care that they deserve.
Specifically, below are a list of the specific competency performance indicators I worked on:
Professional Practice
Maintain client confidentiality and and privacy
Ensure informed consent
Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of professional boundaries
Demonstrate knowledge of the role and features of job description
Communication and Collaboration
Use appropriate communication technique(s)
Demonstrate knowledge of opportunities for and barriers to, communication
Speak clearly and concisely in a manner responsive to the needs of the listener(s)
Establish rapport
Communicate in a respectful manner
Recognize opportunities to contribute to the learning of others
Student Tutorial: Inter-cultural Communication
Assignment
One of the first assignments I had in my Dietetics Practicum class was the student lead tutorial. My group focused on Inter-cultural Communication, which proved to be a very complex and interesting subject. We chose this topic as it is quite relevant and important for healthcare professionals, especially in a multi-cultural city such as Vancouver. With the multiple interactions we have each day, there are so many people we communicate with who may, for various reasons such as ethnic, cultural or religious, communicate slightly differently than us. As a future Dietitian it is important to start thinking about potential differences in, or barriers to, communication. Within our Dietetics class of 35 students, there are 16 cultures represented, including different Asian cultures, German, English, Indian, Greek and Ukranian, to name a few. In the beginning stages of our research we explored the Dietitians of Canada website to find any relevant research or competencies that related to this topic. There are many communication topics included in the competencies, so we chose a few that relate specifically to inter-cultural communication and used these as the basis for our tutorial. One issue we realized quite early on was the vastness of the topic we chose. While this made it very interesting, it was also a challenge to focus the tutorial on a specific area. After much discussion and work, we chose to let the competencies guide our discussion, and we paired this with Principles for Effective Inter-Cultural Communication.
Reflection
I felt that the tutorial was successful, and I was very happy with how our group chose to run it. We wanted to make sure that we added a good amount of information for the class to learn, but we also wanted to ensure that the tutorial was engaging and interactive. It was definitely an assignment that I was nervous about. I have done many presentations in my academic career, but I have never been responsible for leading a tutorial or learning session. I think this activity is an excellent way to get us thinking about the education side of Dietetics. I know that for me, one of the most attractive parts of the profession is the opportunity to be able to share what I am learning about nutrition and health, and this tutorial was a good way to start thinking about how this can be done. It is an interesting experience teaching something to someone who is hearing your information for the first time. What I mean by this is, it is important to be acutely aware that, while I may have spent a lot of time learning the topic and doing research, the audience to which I am directing this information may not have the same level of knowledge of this topic as I do. This is definitely something to keep in mind in my future profession, as I will be responsible for educating people about information and knowledge that I have gathered over a number of years. It will be important to present the same information in multiple ways because not everyone learns the same way. In our tutorial we had some slides of information, as well as a handout and an interactive activity where the class had group discussions about a case study. This way, we felt that multiple learning methods would be catered to, thus creating a better learning environment for everyone. This is a skill that I will certainly take into my future profession.
Another aspect of the tutorial assignment that I found quite valuable was the feedback session at the end. This was an opportunity for the professor ( in this case it was Kara Vogt), and our fellow students to talk with us about our performance, as well as strengths and weaknesses of the presentation. The feedback was all constructive, and it seemed that the class found our case study interesting and were happy with how we broke the information down and made it relevant. They liked the wheel we used to show the cultures represented in our own class. There were some areas that we could have strengthened as well, and this included having an Objectives slide at the beginning of our presentation. This slide would have given the class a nice, focused breakdown of what we were going to discuss, which would have helped direct the learning a bit better. Additionally, it was pointed out that, at the end of the tutorial, it would have been beneficial for us to have included a wrap-up slide that briefly touched upon the topics we had discussed. These are areas for improvement that I will certainly keep in mind for any future presentations I do.
I am happy with how the tutorial went and I think that these experiences will only help to strengthen by abilities and skills as a professional Dietitian in the future.
IP Education: Eating, Feeding, Swallowing and its Relation to Health
On Tuesday I went to a seminar that addressed quality of life for those suffering from feeding, eating and swallowing issues. The seminar featured leading experts in the field of nutrition, dental hygiene, occupational therapy and speech language pathology. The session too place at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC. The panel discussed their individual roles within their respective professions as well as their roles as part of an interdisciplinary team. During the informal discussion, each panel member shared how they became involved in eating, feeding and swallowing, and they also shared some experiences they have had within their respective professions. The panel included Jan Duivestein, and Occupational Therapist and instructor at UBC, Kathryn Wishart, a Speech Language Pathologist, Nishi LalBirdi, a Dental Hygenist and Peter Lam, a Registered Dietitian. After the introductions and brief chat about eating, feeding and swallowing, we all participated in a case study that had us work in groups with students from other healthcare professions. The case was about a man who had been involved in an electrical accident and what his immediate care issues were as well as out team’s care plan for him.
I really liked that there was a dietitian on the panel for this event because it allowed me to actively think about where I would fit in an interdisciplinary team such as this one. It was helpful that each panel member discussed their specific roles within the framework of eating, feeding and swallowing, because hearing what the dietitian is responsible for in comparison to the rest of the healthcare professionals allowed to me recognize the importance of each role. After initially reading the case, the panel members got together and discussed what they would do, as did we in our specific groups. Listening to the panel share their steps in working through the care plan was interesting, because there were some similarities to what we would have done, as well as differences. What struck me was that the panel was very candid about discussing the fact that there are often disagreements and arguments within an inter professional team, and I think that this was a valuable discussion to have. While it is certainly important to be confident in your skills and experiences within your field, I can imagine that, as a professional within a group of other professionals, disagreements happen frequently.
When we started with the case study it was initially a little intimidating since there were students from so many backgrounds such as nursing, occupational therapy (OT), speech language pathology (SLP), audiology and dental hygiene. I was quite quiet at first while the group discussed possible ideas for the patient’s care plan, and there were a lot of ideas put forward as to what would be the most important initial treatment. I became more comfortable as the discussion went on, and it was really interesting to practice putting my experience into a plan. Although I still have a lot of learning to do in the field of healthcare and dietetics, I felt as if I was able to contribute.
In my group I was the only Dietetic student, but there were many others involved with the event on different teams. It was interesting to hear the ideas put forth by other Dietetics students, and many of them were similar to what I had suggested. Overwhelmingly I found that our collective priority was to ensure that the patient was maintaining adequate nourishment during his treatment. This may seem obvious, but in my own group adequate nutrition and food intake was much less of a discussion among the other healthcare students, so it was reassuring to hear that other dietetic students were thinking along the same lines as me. It was also quite educational to hear what other healthcare students would do with this case, and I think one of the most valuable lessons to come from the activity was to learn how to bring all the different ideas together into a coherent and successful care plan that was patient-centered. I think that my group did that well, considering we are all still learners. Having the panel of professionals explain their action plan gave us all a point of references for improvement and growth.
I am quite happy with what I learned at this IP education session; it is remarkable what you can pack into 1 hour of learning. I felt that the hour was very organized and flowed very nicely given the amount of information that was shared. There is still a lot of learning I have to do and questions that need to be answered by my future experiences. For example, knowing what the general order is of creating a care plan, and which professionals make the first decisions. I know many questions will be answered in my future years of school and into my internship, but I think it’s also important to realize that not every question will have been answered by the time I am a working professional in the field of Dietetics, but that is ok.
Site Visit – St Paul’s Hospital
Description
On Wednesday, October 8th a fellow classmate, Laree, and I visited St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver. We spent the afternoon with Sinead Feeney, Clinical RD. We split our time between Sinead and Johnny Wu, the Food Services Supervisor in the kitchen of St. Paul’s.
St. Paul’s Hospital is an acute care, research and teaching hospital. It is located on 1081 Burrard St. in downtown Vancouver and it is home to many programs and services such as HIV/AIDS, mental health, heart and lung services, cardiac care and critical care, to name a few. Sinead is a Clinical Cardiac Dietitian and so works in the cardiac unit of St Paul’s Hospital. When we met with Sinead she sat down with us and explained the work that she does as a Dietitian in an acute setting. As we asked her questions she deflected them back towards us, which I thought was a really excellent way to get us thinking about the profession by using what we have already learned as Dietetics Students. As we went through the series of questions we had, we tried to answer them and Sinead would help us out and also give extra explanations to ensure that we had a thorough understanding of what she does in the hospital.
After chatting with Sinead for about half an hour, we met Johnny, who is the Food Services Supervisor in the hospital kitchen. Johnny was very enthusiastic and helpful and took us on a tour of the entire two-floor kitchen. He was more than happy to answer any questions we had and just as Sinead had been, he was very thorough and informative. Johnny showed us where the food for all the meals is stored and prepped, and he gave us some background on policies and procedures the kitchen staff follow. Johnny also introduced us to other members of the Food Service Team. During this visit we went through an example of a patient menu, which has a variety of foods that the patient from which the patient chooses. The hospital works on a two week rotation, meaning every two weeks the menu starts over again. This is to help ensure that patients receive a variety of different foods. In addition to menu cards the hospital provides comment cards to the patients so they can express their likes and dislikes for different aspects of the menu.
Reflection
In my preparation for the dietetics course at UBC, I shadowed quite a few dietitians in acute, residential, and community settings. I really valued this particular site visit because I had not ever had the opportunity to speak with a Dietitian working in an acute Cardiac setting. I had a mentor a few years ago who was a Dietitian working in an outpatient Cardiac centre, so I feel that this most recent experience has added to my exposure to the profession. Sinead was quite informative and went into a lot of detail about the different roles and responsibilities a clinical Dietitian has. One thing that I am excited for during internship is be able to do some hands-on learning in the field, and I felt that this visit with Sinead really got me thinking about all the roles of a clinical dietitian; things I have not yet learned in my education thus far. Although I am not yet sure what direction I want to go with my career, I do think that Clinical Dietetics appeals to me. The amount of exposure to different areas of healthcare and different healthcare professionals you would have as a Clinical Dietitian interests me, and this visit has made me revisit these thoughts. In our site report we named ten different roles of a Clinical Dietitian, some of which include education, working in an interdisciplinary team, advocacy and helping patients improve their health. These are just a few examples, and these are also many of the reasons I want to be a Dietitian. Education, health and advocacy on behalf of others are just three of the aspects of Dietetics I value, and it is experiences like this site visit that reaffirms my interest in the profession.
In addition to finding things that I am extremely passionate about, this site visit helped me address some things within the program that make me nervous. It was nice to meet a Dietitian in a clinical setting and to talk briefly about internship. While I am extremely excited for the next few years of my education, sometimes it can feel overwhelming. It is helpful to talk to other students and professionals about our career path since everyone has felt nervous and excited at different points during this process.
Although Johnny is not a Dietitian it was quite helpful to talk to him and have him explain the processes that take place within a hospital kitchen. I sat down with a Food Services Dietitian once a few years ago, and this visit with Johnny helped remind me of the different roles and responsibilities that we had discussed back then. Although I am not quite sure if Food Services appeals to me, it is still very important to gain as much exposure as possible to different areas of the profession. I think that, after this site visit, I will seek out more Food Service Dietitians to speak with, as this might help me educate me a bit more on this very important job. It certainly seems like it takes a large amount of organization and leadership skill to run a large hospital kitchen, and this is something I appreciated about Johnn’y s tour. He seemed to have an excellent rapport with the other staff members and he was very friendly and patient with his co-workers, skills that are necessary for a good supervisor.
After visiting St. Paul’s I feel as if I have learned even more about the many areas in which a Dietitian can work. It was nice to get to know more professionals in the field, and it was also nice to get to know another of my classmates. All of these experiences are going to help in my future years of school and internship by allowing me to draw upon them when making future career and education decisions. I look forward to the next opportunity!
Please feel free to read our site report here:
Networking Reflection
This week I sat down with one of my fellow classmates and one of the 4th year Dietetic students. We met for coffee and had a chat about the program thus far, and our expectations, hopes and fears for the coming few years. Gina, our fourth year mentor told us about her experiences with her first year in the program, as well as what her experiences have been in her fourth year. It was nice to meet in a casual environment and a coffee shop is quite conducive to a meeting such as this one. Gina provided us with some good tips and experiential advice, which I think will prove to be quite helpful in navigating the coming few years.
I felt very comfortable with both Gina and Janet, so was easily able to ask questions and get into a good conversation. We discussed our different course loads and the various activities that we are doing outside of school, such as work, volunteer and extra-curricular commitments. It was encouraging to hear that they are busy with all that they do, just as I am, and to sit talk about how to manage all the activities that we each do was quite comforting. It is easy to get overwhelmed with work, school and volunteering, especially when starting a new professional program, so talking this through with Gina and Janet was a great way to help put my mind at ease. It is very valuable to start a support network with fellow students, since that way you feel like you’re not going through overwhelming periods alone.
We discussed the Practicum courses that we are currently in, and we also talked about the practicum class in May. I am quite excited about this course, especially since it sounds like we are going to be exposed to quite a few hands on learning experiences, such as running a nutrition lesson in a classroom and practicing giving a counseling session. Since Gina has already been through these courses, she was able to offer some great words of wisdom, and for herself, the May course opened up a lot of professional avenues.
One thing we discussed quite a bit was the internship year. Since it is coming up quickly for Gina it was interesting to discuss all the different opportunities this year presents. Even though it is a few years away for Janet and myself it was still helpful to talk about all the different locations and possibilities for dietetic experience within these different areas. Internship year is a very exciting prospect, but it does not come without its own set of worries, some of which being financial and the possibility of moving. Discussing this with fellow students was very encouraging since it seems that we all have very similar thoughts weighing on our minds.
This meeting has helped me to realize the importance of getting in touch with different Dietetic students, both in my year and in later years. Gina has offered to field any further questions we may have along the way, which is very kind of her. I think from here I would like to contact other 4th year students, and perhaps some already in internship, so I can seek advice from others. This meeting has also encouraged me to reach out to more students in my year. The beginning of any school year can be hectic, especially when starting something new, but making new connections and support networks will be exceptionally helpful for the years to come.
Health Inter-professional (HIP) Mixer
Health Inter-professional Mixer, September15th, 2014
This past Monday I attended the Health Inter-Professional (HIP) mixer, hosted by the College of Health Disciplines and The Faculty of Medicine at UBC. This event was for newly admitted students from healthcare professions including medicine, dentistry, nursing, dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and more. The night began with a series of short videos with messages from each program head, and then concluded with a talk given by a man who became a paraplegic in a biking accident. His story was an account of his experiences working with a wide range of healthcare professionals, and what it meant for his treatment. I think that it is quite beneficial for the college to plan and hold events that help us to improve our collaborate teamwork skills, and events like this help bring students, who have multidisciplinary skill sets, together in order to practice patient care. In the future, as a Registered Dietitian, I will be working collaboratively with professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, and so it is important, as a student, to begin making professional connections. I found the videos quite informative and valuable, and I was also excited to be able to speak with students from so many different healthcare fields.
It may have been the sheer number of students, or the facility, but unfortunately I did not have an entirely positive experience at the HIP mixer. It was quite a disorganized event, and there was not much time for small group discussion. Given the size of the group and the enclosed location, the session felt quite chaotic rather than conducive to professional growth. The intention was to help us, as future healthcare professionals, to create connections, but the nature of the activities and the way the mixer was organized, was not conduce to a professional environment.
It was nice to meet students from other faculties at the mixer, but perhaps next year the 1000 or so students could be split into different locations, so the groups are more condensed and personal. Additionally, perhaps next year there can be more opportunity for open discussion among students in a more flexible environment. For example, if a food table is set up, students will flock to it, and interesting discussions between students will be sure to follow. Alternatively, multiple stations could be set up, with students moving from station to station to discuss various health topics from unique perspectives.
I would like to reiterate that I think an inter professional mixer night is a wonderful idea, and discussing health topics with a wide variety of disciplines is extremely valuable, and if the number of students can be broken up, perhaps starting in-depth discussions will be easier.