I capped my internship in the food service department at Mercy Hospital. Highlights of this experience included:• Created vegetarian and vegan menus distributed to patients as an alternative to the daily menu.• Created a new vegan/vegetarian menu item to expand menu choices and offer variety to patients.• Planned an event for National Chefs Day, working within a budget, to create a breakfast that offered games and prizes.

During the core of my internship I rotated between the diabetes clinic, food pharmacy, cardiac rehab center and bariatric clinic. This amazing experience introduced me to variety of roles an RD play, and I frequently was given more and more responsibility. Highlights included:• Counseled a wide variety of patients from different backgrounds about various diets, which included carbohydrate counting, heart healthy diets and helping patients lose weight.• Followed up with patients I counseled at Cardiac Rehab who used my recommendations, allowing me to measure patient progress and track their progress toward their goals.• Taught patients how to use home glucose monitors, including how to read them, how to care for the monitors, and what their glucose goals should be before and after meals.• Reviewed charts and collaborated with interdisciplinary care teams to meet patient nutritional needs.• Identified malnutrition through percent weight loss, intake and Nutrition Focus Physical Exams.• Provided dietary education to patients such as carbohydrate counting, low sodium and renal diets.• Calculated nutritional requirements and assessed adequacy of diets.• Created nutritional displays and handouts for National Nutrition Month to be displayed and distributed throughout the month of March.

My first internship was an incredible introduction to hands-on nutrition patient care. Highlights included:• Created relationships with residents to establish food preferences and meal choices.• Prepared nutritional assessments based on nurse evaluation and doctor notes.• Coordinated dietary information with the food service department.• Updated tray card information utilizing computerized card system.• Created vegan options as alternative to daily menu.• Conducted foodservice trayline audits and sanitation inspections.

Selected, edit and occasionally shot photos for the premiere sports business news magazine in the United States - SportsBusiness Journal.