The Penultimate Post

Wow. It is hard to believe that the next to last week of the Dietetic Internship is finally here. But don't let that fool you into thinking we are coasting by over at UK Health & Wellness! In fact, we are busier than ever, and all of our fun programming is finally coming to a head. I am so excited for these last few experiences before moving on with my career.

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Snack Cart

Is that Tracey in a banana suit? Why yes, yes it is! 

Last week UK Health & Wellness went on a "road trip" across campus where we delivered healthy snacks to UK employees. Within our three scheduled stops, including the College of Ag plaza, the Wethington Building, and Funkhouser Building, we served about 130 UK employees and nearly ran out of our snack inventory!

This is just one of many ways that UK Health & Wellness shows employees that they care about them. It was such great fun joining in on this field trip, and everyone got a mega kick out of the banana costume. They were even more impressed when they discovered that the banana also told fruit and vegetable themed jokes. Employees were coming out of the office anticipating a joke by the end of our first stop, and I was absolutely thrilled to be able to provide some sort of entertainment for their day. Such a good time!

EatWell Weight Loss Presentations

This week was my big debut in leading the presentations of the EatWell Weight Loss group. My presentation was called "Snack Hacks" and discussed how to change the perception of snacking from something negative to something to feel good about. If you are indeed hungry, snacking can be a great opportunity to fuel your body by means of solid nutrition. Hacking your snacks can help you satisfy common snack cravings in a healthy manner. For example, if you are hungry and craving something crunchy then you can eat frozen grapes to satisfy that need.

I learned a few things about presentations this week, some of them big (choose your words wisely) and some things small (staple your papers). First, no two presentations are alike and you can never predict the behavior of your audience. For example, in the afternoon class on Tuesday the audience was as quiet as a graveyard, so my presentation lasted all of maybe 15-20 minutes. However, even though the group on Tuesday evening was 1/3 the amount of people the presentation ended up being 45 minutes, because the audience was actively participating in a conversation with me about snacking.

Additionally, online teaching is so much different than teaching a class in person. When you move the classroom to the Internet, you lose all of the nonverbal communication from the audience. Without those nonverbal cues it is hard to discern whether the audience is engaged and understanding the message that is being delivered. Also, it is difficult to ask a question and wait longer than just a few seconds for responses to start trickling in from participants. It was very uncomfortable to hang in the balance, not knowing whether the audience is going to participate or if they are waiting for you to continue.

Super serious face ^

​Overall, I would say I did relatively well with my presentations. If this were a daily/weekly requirement of my job then I would quickly be desensitized to public speaking. However, presenting on the rare occasion has a way of making you feel more nervous than if it were a regular occurrence. I will admit that my biggest fear in this profession is being approached with a question that I do not know the answer to off the top of my head, but realistically speaking people do not expect me to know every answer to their questions. In relation, I realize that if I am to be the go-to person for advice about food choices that I need to have a repertoire of options in my metaphorical back pocket for clients. If I am going to talk the talk, then I need to walk the walk, and that involves being informed on a variety of options for people to try for themselves.

Consults, Town Hall, and Kids Can Cook - Oh My!

On top of the rest, we were busy with the usual and the unusual. We had another town hall meeting to catch up on everything that the team is working on at the moment. I have also been working on organizing materials for the Kids Can Cook class, mainly just the booklet that will be given out to each parent/child team during class. Finally, we had a very interesting in-person consult this week with one of our EatWell members. This consult was of particular interest to me because I am so eager to hone my counseling skills. It is just so intriguing for me as a third party witness to these discussions, because I am able to focus on specific techniques for behavior change being used in discussion, like motivational interviewing, active listening, and mirroring. It was such an incredible week at UK Health & Wellness. 

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Competencies:
CRD 1.1 Select indicators of program quality and/or customer service and measure achievement of objectives. (Tip:  Outcomes may include clinical, programmatic, quality, productivity, economic or other outcomes in wellness, management, sports, clinical settings, etc.)
CRD 1.2 Apply evidence-based guidelines, systematic reviews and scientific literature (such as the Academy’s Evidence Analysis Library and Evidence-based Nutrition Practice Guidelines, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Guideline Clearinghouse Web sites) in the nutrition care process and model and other areas of dietetics practice.
CRD 1.3 Justify programs, products, services and care using appropriate evidence or data.
CRD 1.4 Evaluate emerging research for application in dietetics practice.
CRD 2.1 Practice in compliance with current federal regulations and state statutes and rules, as applicable and in accordance with accreditation standards and the Scope of Dietetics Practice and Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics.
CRD 2.2 Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications. (Tip:  Examples include research manuscripts, project proposals, education materials, policies and procedures.)
CRD 2.3 Design, implement and evaluate presentations to a target audience. (Tip:  A quality presentation considers life experiences, cultural diversity and educational background of the target audience.)
CRD 2.4 Use effective education and counseling skills to facilitate behavior change.
CRD 2.5 Demonstrate active participation, teamwork and contributions in group settings.
CRD 2.7 Refer clients and patients to other professionals and services when needs are beyond individual scope of practice.
CRD 2.8 Apply leadership principles to achieve desired outcomes.
CRD 2.9 Participate in professional and community organizations.
CRD 2.11 Demonstrate professional attributes within various organizational cultures. (Tip:  Professional attributes include showing initiative and proactively developing solutions, advocacy, customer focus, risk taking, critical thinking, flexibility, time management, work prioritization and work ethic.)
CRD 2.12 Perform self-assessment, develop goals and objectives and prepare a draft portfolio for professional development as defined by the Commission on Dietetic Registration
CRD 3.2 Demonstrate effective communications skills for clinical and customer services in a variety of formats. (Tip:  Formats include oral, print, visual, electronic and mass media methods for maximizing client education, employee training and marketing.)
CRD 3.3 Develop and deliver products, programs or services that promote consumer health, wellness and lifestyle management. (Tip:  Students/Interns should consider health messages and interventions that integrate the consumer’s desire for taste, convenience and economy with the need for nutrition and food safety.)
CRD 3.4 Deliver respectful, science-based answers to consumer questions concerning emerging trends. (Tip:  Students/Interns should demonstrate and promote responsible use of resources including employees, money, time, water, energy, food and disposable goods.)
CRD 4.6 Prepare and analyze quality, financial or productivity data and develops a plan for intervention.
CRD 4.8 Conduct feasibility studies for products, programs or services with consideration of costs and benefits.
CRD 4.10 Develop a plan to provide or develop a product, program or service that includes a budget, staffing needs, equipment and supplies.