For every new patient, I would obtain information from medical records and in-person interviews to assess the patient’s nutrition status. Based on the assessment, I would come up with nutrition diagnosis and interventions to address the patient’s problems. Common nutrition interventions that I made include diet modification (e.g., from regular to low salt, from chopped to minced), oral nutrition supplement order, and tube feeding management. I always try to tailor the intervention based on each patient’s specific needs to provide them with individualized nutrition care. For patients who lack the knowledge to manage their disease at home, I would provide them with nutrition education at bedside.

Follow up visits were provided for patients with longer stays. At follow up sessions, I would reassess patients’ nutrition status, see if nutrition goals from the previous session were met, and come up with new interventions as needed. Although not everyone makes progress in an acute care hospital, I did see a good number of patients reaching a better nutrition status after I implemented nutrition interventions for them. For example, patients with poor denture improved food intake after I changed their diet from regular to chopped; malnourished patients with decreased appetite met their daily caloric goal and maintained weight by drinking oral nutrition supplement. I always felt really happy to see my effort turn into positive changes in my patients.

This work experience has definitely consolidated my understanding of a variety of nutrition-related disease state. However, what made this work experience truly impressive is that I also learned a lot about communication and teamwork from it. Besides interacting with patients, I also collaborated with peer dietitians, nurses and doctors all the time. While my dietitian colleagues provided me with valuable technical support, healthcare professionals from other disciplines inspired me with new perspectives. At the same time, no teamwork succeeds without challenges. When confusion or misunderstanding happened at work, I always choose to stay calm and listen to the reasoning from the other side before making too many comments. Many times, I found myself developing more respect and understanding towards the other party during the process of problem-solving.