On of the many wonderful events at this year’s annual meeting was the RDN Panel hosted by UAND students. University of Utah student Mary Jefferson wrote the following review of the event:
As one of the student representatives for the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, this was my second year attending a UAND annual meeting. I am graduating as part of the University of Utah’s Coordinated Master’s Program this May and felt the conferences I had attended in the past lacked meaningful information catered specifically towards students. Many (around 20-30%) of the conference attendees are students, so why were none of the breakout sessions catered towards topics of interest for this large group?
I discussed my observations and concerns with my father, a local physician, following the 2014 conference. He actually gave me the idea of having some sort of mentoring lunch with a dietitian in an area of interest to the student, similar to something he had experienced at a medical conference he had attended. The idea evolved to include a variety of dietitians on a panel so we could get different perspectives from various professionals. I was encouraged when I pitched the idea to my fellow student representatives and they also felt it would be valuable.
The goal was to represent dietitians that would not be typically seen on a standard student rotation. Four different dietitians were represented on the student panel: one working at the prison system, one working for the state regulatory committee for nursing homes, one working for an eating disorder clinic, and one working for a grocery store. The experiences of these individuals were enlightening and exhibited the diversity of various dietetics jobs available in the state of Utah, which was encouraging for students graduating this spring with an assortment of interests.
Key points of each of the speakers are highlighted below:
Stephanie Ashmore: Dietitian for Correctional Facilities throughout Utah
Stephanie has a Master’s in nutrition from the University of Utah and has worked for 1 ½ years as the lone dietitian found throughout the prison systems. She visits the various prisons throughout the state at least once a week and likes her jobs because it offers a mix of food service and clinical experience. She also counsels inmates interested in dietary information, something she started since her employment since she felt it was needed. Stephanie has learned the most about religious foods rules and regulations to ensure religious diets are acceptable for inmates. She felt her food service rotation was the most helpful to prepare her for this position and has enjoyed being a part of some of AND’s listserv groups to ask questions and network with other prison dietitians.
Stephanie Roque: State Regulatory Dietitian for Nursing Homes
Stephanie also has a Master’s degree in nutrition and really enjoys working in foodservice and hearing “nuggets of wisdom” from the patients in the nursing homes. Her job requires thick skin because she is often requesting changes in meal production in the facilities she inspects, which can be confrontational. She and a team of 2-3 nurses inspect nursing homes throughout the state, and Stephanie enjoys seeing the smaller parts of Utah she would normally never go. She has learned a lot of nursing information, from bed sores to linen transportation, by working so closely with her team. Desk work and site visits alternate weekly. Stephanie was inspired by the annual Public Policy Workshop to enter the field of regulation. She encouraged students to keep an open mind when applying for various jobs since any job you work at will provide a learning opportunity.
Kierstin Holmgren, Eating Disorder Dietitian
Kierstin is working her first job at the Center for Change in Provo and has a sister that is also a dietitian. Kierstin enjoys following her patients throughout their entire recovery process. Another perk is that she goes out to lunch during work (usually 2-3 times a week) with her patients to help them have a better experience while eating out. Some patients go shopping with her at the grocery store and help to cook a meal, again to have a more positive food experience. Her job also requires tough skin when patients do not want to progress their diet. Kierstin says the most rewarding experiences would be when a patient sends her a thank you card for helping them. She stated that someone that is empathetic and can understand the fear and concern in these patients but could also be tough and help the patients heal would be a good fit for this job. She works independently but also has the support of other dietitians and others medical professionals at her center. Kierstin suggested catering cover letters and resumes to the specific job you are applying.
Kayla Womeldorff, Harmon’s Dietitian
Kayla says her job is the best of everything fun in dietetics. She enjoys teaching cooking classes, being represented on the media, giving grocery store tours, going to health conferences and expos, counseling customers, and selecting foods products to be “dietitian’s choice.” She couldn’t give a rundown of a typical day since she does so many different things. The most difficult thing is to be a “jack of all trades” and being able to keep up on all the new food trends, scientific literature, and all the various disease states. Being personable and a good speaker would be helpful in this job. She works mostly at the Harmon’s in Farmington at Station Park independently, but also coordinates with three other dietitians located at Harmon’s throughout the valley. Harmon’s is the first grocery store in Utah to employ dietitians and this may become an expanding field for nutrition in the future.
We are so incredibly grateful for our panelists! I know I learned so much and really appreciated their expert advice. I hope we can continue doing this panel in the future! Their diverse background and experiences gave a good mix of ideas to everyone that attended.