The Positive Power of Preceptors
Easily one of the greatest parts of my dietetic internship thus far has been the amazing preceptors who volunteer their time to share their knowledge and experiences with us interns. One of these individuals I have had the pleasure of working with is Athena Cameranesi, Registered Dietitian (and Cal Poly alumni!) working with clients at an eating disorder treatment center. Athena is kind, energetic, and a pleasure to be around. She genuinely cares about the clients she works with, as evidenced by her positive attitude and client interactions. Today I am excited to shine some spotlight on Athena and the wonderful contributions she is making to the field through her work and her guidance of aspiring dietitians such as myself!
After finishing her dietetic internship at Tulane University, Athena landed a job with a different eating disorder treatment center than the one she is with now. Working with this population wasn’t necessarily something Athena had always planned on doing, but she has grown to really love it and is grateful for the experience. Athena says she likes working with the population because they are clients who really need the help, and in turn she knows that she is doing important work and is actually making a difference in others’ lives.
A relatively new RD herself, Athena takes her experiences working with preceptors in her own internship and uses this to better herself as a preceptor. When working with interns, she tries to do the things that she found useful, taking what she liked and what she didn’t to shape her precepting style. And personally, I think she’s doing a great job at it! Even when she has a lot on her plate (which is pretty much all the time) Athena stays organized and gives her interns a clear idea of what to expect from the day, keeping us in the loop when things change unexpectedly. I appreciate this because it allows me to have more of a contribution to the day by being up to speed with what is needed. I’ve also enjoyed the mix of observing and participating in assessments that Athena has me doing, because it allows me valuable practice as well as a chance to see the ways she deals with the variety of clients and experiences they bring. I also really love that Athena shows appreciation for the work that I’m doing! Sometimes you can get caught up in feeling like you're“just the intern,” but the truth is that often we are making a positive contribution, and being recognized for it is so encouraging.
This year is Athena’s first one as a preceptor, and it has been an enjoyable learning experience for her. She notes that she really likes helping students learn, especially about such an important topic. She says that eating disorders aren’t covered a lot in our education but that it is still so important for RDs to be aware of them because we will likely come across them in some shape or form throughout our career.
It is preceptors like Athena, who so clearly care about the population they serve, the interns they are teaching, and the profession as a whole that have made my dietetic internship so valuable.