The first week of my dietetic internship is officially over and I’m now in my second week!
One of my main personal goals during the internship is to blog each week about my rotations. Not only do I want these recaps for the future, I figure y’all want to read about it too. The problem is that I have to be VERY confidential about what I talk about. I can’t take any pictures and I can’t provide any details.
So, therefore I don’t really know how these posts are going to look. I’m sure that I’ll get into a good format as I actually get into the rotations and common themes (that I CAN talk about) come out.
This past week was orientation all week. I had met with the fellow interns the Friday night before we started for dinner and drinks. This was such a great idea – and I definitely recommend meeting your fellow interns before starting.
We only had our schedule for Monday and Tuesday going into the week, which was really nerve wracking. We are all planners and I think most of us were feeling very anxious as the week started.
Monday and half of Tuesday were corporate orientation days. We went through a lot of the corporate policies/ideas/missions and did team building exercises each day. We were placed with at least a hundred other employees in a huge conference room and basically sat around all day. It definitely wasn’t the most exciting way to spend the first 1.5 days – but it was great to hear about Baylor’s Corporate Culture, which so far – I’m in awe over. We also got our name badges!
The second half of Tuesday was spent in our Dietetic Internship Orientation. We had already filled a lot of paperwork out over the summer, but we had two HUGE folders of paperwork to sign when we got to the hospital as well. I think I signed my name 35-40 times? We also met some of the HR staff and took a tour of the hospital. We found where our lockers and boxes are, as well as our office space. And we got a schedule for the rest of the week and our parking assignments!
Wednesday we jumped straight into more orientation, after getting a TB test and filling out all our health paperwork including health history and vaccination/immunization records. We finally got our rotation schedule, which made all of us VERY happy. We also received our pagers, locks for our lockers and tons of details on the program, our projects and some specifics about the rotations. We met two former interns who helped us with our specific questions and setting some general expectations for what our lives will be like the next 10 months. We had a review of diabetes and preparation for seeing patients in every rotation who will suffer from the disease. We ended the day with a webinar on nutrition for wound care, which was very interesting.
Thursday we had sessions all day with future preceptors and hospital staff. We met a chaplain and had a session on grief and dying. We were briefed on safety precautions and rules. We had a counseling seminar and preparation for our diabetes rotation. And we ended the day with a 2+ hour pre-test that was BRUTAL. We got our email access at the end of the day as well!
Friday was another jam packed day with sessions. We met our Eating Disorders preceptor as well as our Head Start preceptor and had sessions on what to expect/how to prepare for those rotations. We spent a lot of time learning our way around the computer system and getting an idea of where all our homework/files are for each rotation on the network. We learned about the patient services team, and how we will be working with both foodservice and the Diet Techs in every rotation. And the day ended early, with a tour/instruction on how to use the library and research resources for our projects and work.
Overall – great orientation week. I am massively overwhelmed, but I feel WAY more in control than I did a week ago when we were first showing up to the hospital. I spent some time this weekend getting some organization in place for my binder and filing system for the rotations.
This week I ended up in the group that is going through an Introduction to the Clinical Rotations. So it will be more orientation-like stuff, but with regard to all the clinical rotations – which is the focus of my program.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
woop for finally having your rotation schedule!
it sounds like you had a busy & info-overload first week!
Wow, that’s so crazy! So much info & new stuff! I also meant to comment on you picture of your put together binder that I have the same pencil case. NERDSSSS!
So I’m pretty mich completely obsessed with hearing about your internship. I’m nervous but definitely excited about getting this process started and getting my last year of school started!!
I have honestly thought about you SO many times as I analyze what to recap during the day. I can’t believe how much of what I learned in my last year I’m using now! SO much. I’m so excited for you to go through it so we can chat it all up
I had to laugh at your commentary re: scheduling! Remember how much you learned about flexibility this past year! The Robinsbite team misses you!
I love reading these – even if they aren’t specific in what you are doing. Just the basics and high-level updates of what you are doing is fun!
Wow, so crazy. Not gonna lie – I’m a little jealous! I can’t wait until I’m starting my internship a year from now…(knock on wood). I can’t wait to keep hearing your updates!
WOW. That does sound intense. I can’t imagine how difficult it will be to work with such challenging & sad cases every day, especially at the beginning when it’s all new. It’s good to know that they are sending you in well-prepared, and as far as I can tell, you’re going to be a natural at it.
Very cool that you have a pager. That makes it seem so official!
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