I was super stoked to come into this rotation, because diabetes education is an area I'm really, really interested in working in professionally. And, this is my first outpatient rotation (where people are coming in to see us from home, rather than us barging in on their hospital room).
The centre I'm in is part of a family health team in downtown Toronto, and we provide education for diabetes management to people who have been diagnosed with Type 1, Type 2 or pre-diabetes. This includes people who are managing their diabetes through oral medications only, insulin, or through lifestyle modification alone (so no gestational diabetes, and no Type 1 using insulin pumps). Our clients come to the centre to meet with nurses and dietitians for assistance with managing their diabetes, including diet and lifestyle modifications, insulin adjustments, and recommendations to alter medications (which need approval from a doc). We also offer a huge number of classes to explain the condition to newly diagnosed people (different classes for each type), and to help them manage their condition (such as physical activity classes, label reading classes and supermarket tours).
The first week was really more an orientation to diabetes education, shadowing my preceptors (there are two dietitians working at this centre, so I kind of float between the two of them depending on whether their clients are comfortable having a student there), and starting to get more involved with client visits by taking diet histories. I also spent lots of time with the nurses to learn about using glucometers and reviewing the types of oral medications and insulins that our clients are taking. We need to be very familiar with these medications, as their effects will greatly influence how we provide care to clients! For example, if a client is on a medication that has a high risk of hypoglycemia, the recommendations I make for them will be very different than what I would offer to someone who has little risk of hypos. By the end of the week I was feeling pretty comfortable with the process and ready to start taking charge more in client meetings (considering that I had just come from a rotation where I was operating pretty much independently) -- but, I had so few clients to see!!! I told my preceptor that I'd like to start working more independently with the next clients we were expecting at the end of the week, and they agreed - but then the appointments all cancelled! D'oh... This is the unfortunate reality of outpatient clinics -- people have the choice as to whether they want to come see you or not. Even if they confirm their appointment, there's still no guarantee that they are actually going to show up!
By the end of week 2 I was taking charge much more often in appointments, and led part of a group education class (I taught people about the complications of unmanaged diabetes and some management strategies), and in the last week I was running pretty well independently again, though my preceptor was much more involved than the previous rotation. This was really more by my request than anything else, because I was still getting used to the outpatient environment where clients come up with very random out-of-the blue questions on a regular basis! For example, one client came in for their regular RD follow up, but actually wanted to talk about issues with IBS and her upcoming colonoscopy to investigate her for diverticulitis. Though I have some knowledge on these topics (particularly being a fellow IBS sufferer!), it was helpful to have my preceptor there to rely on for specific questions she had. I've also had several clients with psychiatric and emotional issues affecting how we conduct the appointment, which I've never really worked with before, so I was grateful for my preceptor's support!
It also struck me recently that OMG - THERE'S LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS LEFT!!!!!!!!! In four months, I will have my temporary licence and be able to legally practice with the letters "RD" behind my name!
Not only that, but I also got amazing news during this rotation: I HAVE MY FIRST POST-INTERNSHIP JOB LINED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mind you it's very temporary, only a week long gig, but I will get PAID!!!!
I'll be working with a dietitian at a summer camp for the Canadian Diabetes Association with kids with Type 1 diabetes! The super cool part of this job (besides the paycheque) is that since I'll officially have my licence (even a temporary licence still counts), I can count all of the hours I work at the camp towards getting my Certified Diabetes Educator certificate, which you need 500 hours to qualify for. An overnight camp will let me rack up loads of hours in a pretty short period of time!
Oh yeah, and not only will I be able to be employed in four months, but I'm also getting MARRIED IN 8 MONTHS!!! It's sneaking up fast, but so far the panic hasn't set in yet: we have a date, a venue, a photographer, a DJ, and I got my dress already :D
By the end of week 2 I was taking charge much more often in appointments, and led part of a group education class (I taught people about the complications of unmanaged diabetes and some management strategies), and in the last week I was running pretty well independently again, though my preceptor was much more involved than the previous rotation. This was really more by my request than anything else, because I was still getting used to the outpatient environment where clients come up with very random out-of-the blue questions on a regular basis! For example, one client came in for their regular RD follow up, but actually wanted to talk about issues with IBS and her upcoming colonoscopy to investigate her for diverticulitis. Though I have some knowledge on these topics (particularly being a fellow IBS sufferer!), it was helpful to have my preceptor there to rely on for specific questions she had. I've also had several clients with psychiatric and emotional issues affecting how we conduct the appointment, which I've never really worked with before, so I was grateful for my preceptor's support!
It also struck me recently that OMG - THERE'S LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS LEFT!!!!!!!!! In four months, I will have my temporary licence and be able to legally practice with the letters "RD" behind my name!
Not only that, but I also got amazing news during this rotation: I HAVE MY FIRST POST-INTERNSHIP JOB LINED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mind you it's very temporary, only a week long gig, but I will get PAID!!!!
I'll be working with a dietitian at a summer camp for the Canadian Diabetes Association with kids with Type 1 diabetes! The super cool part of this job (besides the paycheque) is that since I'll officially have my licence (even a temporary licence still counts), I can count all of the hours I work at the camp towards getting my Certified Diabetes Educator certificate, which you need 500 hours to qualify for. An overnight camp will let me rack up loads of hours in a pretty short period of time!
Oh yeah, and not only will I be able to be employed in four months, but I'm also getting MARRIED IN 8 MONTHS!!! It's sneaking up fast, but so far the panic hasn't set in yet: we have a date, a venue, a photographer, a DJ, and I got my dress already :D
Next week is a well-deserved vacation week (though I'll be spending most of it on finishing up my research, as our abstracts are due for submission in a couple of weeks too :/). After that, the rotation I've been waiting for since I first applied to this internship: ONCOLOGY!!!! Most of the reason I applied to this internship was to work at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the leading cancer centres in the world, and the place that gave my dad a second shot at life after his multiple myeloma diagnosis. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to contribute to this organization and give back in whatever way I can to help support other patients through their cancer journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment