Three is Better Than One!
What’s better than learning from one preceptor during your clinical rotation? Learning from THREE preceptors during your clinical rotation! For most, it is common to work alongside multiple amazing dietitians while you learn how to be a competent clinical RD! This may sound challenging at first to balance different charting styles and meet each preceptor’s expectations, but it is truly such a rewarding opportunity to be able to learn from so many unique perspectives within the same field! Each preceptor has taken a unique journey through dietetics to become a registered dietitian and it is obvious that each is very knowledgeable and passionate about helping others. It gives the clinical rotation a much more holistic learning experience.
Tiffany Gonzales is the first preceptor I worked with. She is a Cal Poly SLO alum and completed her dietetic internship at CSU Long Beach. Initially, she thought she would enjoy working more in a community setting, specifically with maternal and child nutrition. But during her internship, she fell in love with clinical nutrition. Tiffany was inspired by her amazing preceptors that loved what they were doing. And upon graduating from her internship, she was fortunate to get her first clinical job in a fast-paced county hospital that was also a trauma center and a teaching hospital. Now, working at Sierra Vista, Tiffany loves her role as the clinical RD because there is a wide range of specialties to grow into- management, renal, diabetes, pediatrics, NICU, nutrition support, etc., and she also loves that no two patients are the same. Each patient is unique and challenges a different part of her "nutrition brain"; keeps things exciting.
Ultimately, she loves being a dietitian because she had a passion for food and health. By working in a clinical setting, she has the opportunity to work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team and work with numbers and math (something she loves!). Her advice for any future RDs, “Don't be afraid to ask questions - ask your preceptors, ask the nurses, ask the doctors, ask the patients to get the whole picture. But, at the same time, don't be afraid to use the resources available to you (whether from your undergrad, from your internship, from your preceptor, or even from trusted sources on the internet).”
The second preceptor I get to learn from is Elisa Geissel. She is also a Cal Poly SLO alum and completed her dietetic internship at Clinica Sierra Vista in Bakersfield, CA. On her path to becoming a clinical dietitian at Sierra Vista, she worked in a variety of fields in dietetics such as dialysis and outpatient diabetes management. Overall, she likes the challenge of determining a nutritional intervention for clinical diagnoses and the best way she can help a patient. For incoming interns, she recommends to “explore the variety of fields available in nutrition and be confident in your knowledge base.”
And my third preceptor is Danielle LaChance. Danielle completed her undergrad at San Diego State University and then traveled to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA to complete her internship! From starting as a clinical RD to working in outpatient to working with home health to returning to clinical, her different experiences have given her knowledge in various disease processes, the ability to apply medical nutrition therapy in every setting, and opportunities to provide lots of nutrition education. She found it invaluable to be able to work with different personalities and establish rapport with patients, and through her journey in this career, she learned that she enjoys getting to know different people, hear their stories, and educate them on what they need most to help them with their health.
Her advice to a new RD is “To follow your passion, find the areas you excel in and continue on that path. If you work with patients, get to know them and what works for them instead of just giving information. People like to be heard and want to explain and tell their stories. Be patient and listen and then educate in a way that helps them understand.”
Before entering my clinical rotation, I was apprehensive. I had not spent much time in a hospital setting and was nervous that I would not have all the answers. However, by working alongside these inspiring preceptors, they have helped challenge me to improve my critical thinking, time management, and communication skills. They have encouraged me to enjoy each moment during this rotation and use every opportunity to develop my future career as a dietitian, whether clinically or in another focus. And most importantly, they have reminded me to find ways to make connections within each patient interaction. Because at the end of the day, it isn’t just about the information we know as dietitians, but how we have applied the information to positively impact those around us.
Comments