Nutritional Services Volunteer
Castle Medical Center - Kailua, HI
Castle Medical Center (CMC) served as the primary location for my experiences in inpatient and outpatient clinical nutrition. Prior to volunteering at CMC, I had no clinical experience and was intimidated by the fast-paced hospital work environment. I knew the importance of gaining experience in this area of dietetics and became a nutritional services volunteer at CMC. As a volunteer in the diet office, I learned how to efficiently prepare and deliver meal trays for 160 beds, input diet orders into CBORD and ensure that meal tickets adhered to physician-ordered diets. I was responsible for answering phones and learned how to communicate effectively with patients and medical staff. While volunteering at CMC, I also had the opportunity to shadow one of the clinical dietitians and observe nutrition consultations.
Nutrition Intern
The Hawaii Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery - Castle Medical Center - Kailua, HI
After volunteering in the diet office at CMC for over a year, I also wanted to experience the outpatient side of clinical nutrition. I became a nutrition intern at the Hawaii Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Their mission is to help morbidly obese patients through a comprehensive, patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach. I shadowed bariatric dietitian, Mary Arakaki, observed her counsel patients at all stages of the program and saw first-hand the positive effects of proper nutrition counseling. I assisted with monthly support groups in the Wellness Center, weighed patients using a Tanita scale and assisted them in interpreting their BMI results. I also worked independently to produce a 35-page food guide for bariatric patients five weeks post-surgery. The guide includes information on meal planning, sample menus, recipes and healthy eating patterns. Mrs. Arakaki regularly uses my guide as a resource for patients and said that it is the best student project she ever received. The guide can be found in the projects section of my website. My experiences at the bariatric clinic sparked my interest in the field of weight management.