HCOP

Whenever I'm asked what I'm studying to become, I answer: 'Registered Dietitian'. And so often I get the response, "Oh, so you're going to help fat ppl lose weight". No, not exactly, although that could be part of the job description depending on the patient. That would be called 'weight management'. However, what I ultimately want to focus on is Disease Nutrition - certain diets for particular diseases. (diets for renal failure, diabetes, celiac disease, etc) Also, learn how calculate TPN's [ml per hour & what nutrients to include in 'IV bags' for certain medical conditions] (Total Parenteral Nutrition); nutrients given through IV's when patients aren't able to eat by mouth also known as their PO intake [Per Os (Latin): for by mouth]. So, my main goals will not solely be "helping ppl lose weight".


{P.s. they are not all in the nutrition dept.; some are from P.T. (phys. therapy), O.T. (occupational therapy), anesthesiology, plastic surgery, social work, nursing, speech pathology,etc.}


Yup, that's right, we got our certificates, surprisingly signed manually (BY HAND!) by the Professor & Chairman and Program Director. These are some pictures of friends I met at the Health Career Opportunity Program. It was our last day, we had to make memories!

What I learned!
1. How to screen patients (on a nutritional risk level)
2. how to plot growth charts - (primarily for 'peds' medical slang pronounced [peeds]) to make sure they're in normal range of growth for age and height etc.
3. how to calculate BMI & when to use upper/lower limit of IBW (ideal body weight)
4. went on 'rounds' - a team of medical staff (attendant, residents, pharmacist, nurse practitioner, nurse, dietician, etc. visit patients bed to bed as each case is assessed, discussed, and reviewed)
5. in meetings that review each patient of the designated floor, there is a social worker that is responsibility for getting the background info of each patient; these background info consists of who visits the patient, how they get along with family, etc basically the juicy gossip - extremely interesting.
6. learned a lot of medical terms
Ex. CABG (pronounced cabbage) acronym for 'CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT'
7. there is a hierarchy amongst the medical staff that is explosive & interesting to watch as attendant & residents, residents & dietitians, nurse practitioners & fellows, etc. communicate during conferences
8. I am interested in both the clinical and outpatient setting of the Dietetics field.
9. learned that disease, illness, sickness is very, very real; to work at a hospital, you inevitably need to don an invisible mask to conceal emotions that surface as you see each patient...especially the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) & CCU (critical care unit)
10. we learned so much more, it would take a while to explain.

As I've shadowed 9 NYU dietitians, I saw their everyday responsibilities that include assessing patients, doing some diet education when needed, visiting patients to assess their nutritional needs & preferences, and writing charts/notes.

As for outpatient, post-op [post operative] patients after heart surgery, for instance, come in to see a dietitian for an hour to assess their post-op diet and ask any questions they have pertaining their diet or nutrition in general.

-c