BACK TO SCHOOL! It’s been about a month since school started. For most of our readers, many are dietetic interns starting their year-long dietetic internship! For me (Rui), my first rotation was clinical! Nicole’s second rotation was clinical. The one word we could describe our feelings during our clinical rotation was OVERWHELMING. Honestly, it is truly as difficult as your internship directors, preceptors, and friends tell you. Because of this new and intense experience, we want to help YOU out to feel the most prepared. Although this is a tougher rotation than your foodservice or community rotations, we both felt like we learned THE MOST. Let’s get started!!!
1. DO NOT be afraid to ask ANY questions!
Rui: Since my first rotation was clinical, I had SO many questions. What I learned quickly was that if I don’t get my questions answered, I will not learn to my fullest potential.
Nicole: Going on rounds and going to meetings with your preceptors can make it intimidating to ask questions, but I always wrote a long list so at the end of the day I could go through them with my preceptor if I still haven’t been able to answer them on my own by the end of the day.
2. Write EVERYTHING down
Our internship directors always told us to write every question, every medication, every therapeutic diet, etc in our notebooks. We highly recommend purchasing a smaller notebook that you can keep in your lab coat pocket. If you don’t remember the answer to a previous question you asked, write it down and look it up at home that evening.
3. Fake it ‘till you make it
This may sound odd, but the confidence you exude in yourself, the eagerness to learn from your mistakes and your preceptors will take you VERY far. I am not the most confident person, but beating yourself up or letting your fear take over will not help you during this rigorous rotation. This doesn’t mean you should pretend to know everything. AFTERALL, there is a reason that we’re in the internship, we studied hard to get where we are. So remind yourself that there is a purpose and that you will be okay!
4. Learn to manage your time while being flexible
Although most dietitians and dietetics students have Type A personalities and are probably great at time management, it is important to manage your time efficiently. I thought one of my BEST skills was time management until I had 10 patients to see in one day. Some days, I had to eat my lunch while finishing up my notes. I played around with seeing all my patients and then writing my notes after. What worked for me was to see 1-2 patients, complete my notes, then see another set of 1-2 patients.
Outside of your rotation, you may have classes as we did. In the beginning, I saved all of my homework for the weekends so I could focus and reserve my energy for the rotation. However, when the weekend came, all I wanted to do was SLEEP, so this method didn’t work for me. What ended up working for me was to tackle my homework on the days that weren’t too taxing at my site. Do realize that your days on site will vary every single time you come in, so flexibility and self-care are key!
5. Self-care, self-care, self-care
Your days will likely be busy, stressful, and long. Make sure you find a rejuvenating activity when you come back so that you are ready to tackle the next day! Our self-care was definitely tested during this rotation, but I (Rui) found what helped me wind down included taking time away from your phone/laptop to call a friend, grabbing drinks/food with other interns, cooking a nourishing and satisfying dinner, exercising/stretching, or taking a nice bath and putting on a DIY face mask!
It was definitely similar to me, Nicole, I would spend time going out on hikes getting fresh air. Though my favorite activity was making sure I carved out time to catch up on all my favorite TV shows and movies with ZERO distractions!!
These are just a few, but we would love to know what other things have made it helpful to get through the internship. We are still learning about ourselves in this last year of graduate school, realizing what classes we’re better at and where our skillsets really lie. BUT that’s for another post!!!
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