By: Amanda Sauceda
First rotation is done! I can’t believe how fast time went by. This week will be the start of my nutrition therapy rotation. Looking back at these past weeks I am glad that I did my community rotation first. I think my community rotation was a great introduction into the whole internship experience. The community setting isn’t quite as intimidating compared to going straight into my nutrition therapy rotation. Not only was this a great intro but I have come out of this rotation pleasantly surprised.
The most helpful thing I have taken away from this experience is an improvement to my counseling skills. The RDs that I shadowed had great counseling skills and used a lot of motivational interviewing. I was able to learn a lot just by watching them. I admit the first time I did the counseling I was a bit nervous but as time went on I became more and more comfortable doing it. The setting at a WIC clinic isn’t always ideal because there’s usually little kids running around or a baby crying and those things force you to really concentrate on what your saying. Towards the end it started to become second nature and you learn how to adapt to that toddler tugging on his mother’s shirt while you’re trying to counsel her. Motivational interviewing skills were very helpful in this setting and I definitely got to practice mine. By letting the client come in and pick the direction of the session they feel like they are getting the most out of it and you’ll know it’s a topic they are interested in. Motivational interviewing was also real important for the moms who were breastfeeding because you really want to encourage them to continue and help them overcome any obstacles they face. Overall I had a very enlightening and exciting time!
Armed with my new confidence in my counseling skills I’m prepared for the new setting at the hospital and the challenges it brings. If all my rotations go as fast and as good as this one I’ll be ready for the RD test before I know it!
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