WHAT I LEARNED DURING MY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ROTATION

dietetic internship

My professional development rotation was at Roche Dietitians.

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to intern at Roche Dietitians. During my rotation at RD, we developed training materials for International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative ( IDDSI – you know it’s international when “standardization” is spelled as “standardisation” ).

I learned so much from the Roche team, like how to strategically create a lesson plan with literacy level, organization, and voice top of mind, how to create a compelling career in dietetics, how to leverage my skills in the dietetics field, and how to evolve as a dietitian.

The founder, Maggie Roche, has an inspiring entrepreneurial spirit and provided me with so much career advice that gave me clarity and confidence. Here are three of the big takeaways from my time with the Maggie and the team:

When making decisions…

Ask yourself, what is best for the PROFESSION? Will your decision help the dietetics profession get to the next step, or will it weaken the profession?

Be generous, but not ignorant – you provide value because you have the expertise, but don’t always work for free. If you work for free forever, it doesn’t bring the profession to the next level or allow the opportunity for other professionals in your field to support their businesses.

Work backwards…

Both financially and with your professional goals… How much money do you need to support yourself? What skills do you need to be the expert in what you want to do professionally?

Don’t drive your car off the cliff…

… With the money you invested in your studies and training, you could have bought a car! Don’t depreciate your value as a dietitian… If you aren’t interested anymore, give it up and pursue something else. If you stick to it, increase your value. Keep educating yourself; dietary practice is constantly evolving and you must keep up to be a valuable practitioner and expert.

It has been a privilege interning at RD. Believe it or not, this was my last rotation for my public health semester! Next blog post will be a wrap up then… CLINICALS !!!

xx hails