For one week we had the opportunity to work with a dietitian who consults with nursing homes. It was very different from our hospital rotation. (Sorry no fun pictures with this post)
We were there in small groups and each day we were at a different location. Our preceptor is the dietitan for 21 long term care facilities in the DFW area. (Wow) So she must be extremely organized to be sure to visit each one within the timespan set by state and federal regulations.
One thing that I found difficult was that the dietitians did not have an office. At each facility, they found a room or chair and table set up to work out. The office had to come with them.
Day 1: Our first Long Term Care facility in Fort Worth, pretty tame for the most part. We were reviewing some of the resident's charts and there was one resident who looked us up and down, wheeled over to one of the nurses at the nurses's station and began questioning her why we were there. The nurse explained that we were dietetic students and we were there to check on the residents eating and make sure they were getting enough. The resident then just sat there and stared at us with this glare. Yikes!
Day 2: We spent the afternoon at one of the facilities close to campus, it was the nicest of the three facilities, nothing too exciting occured during our time there
Day 3: Our last day with our Long Term Care preceptor was the craziest. At one point in the morning we were by the nurse's station looking up patient charts and all at the same time around the station we had a man talking like an auctioner and clapping, one woman randomly singing, and another woman howling. It was quite an adventure.
My group and I decided that when we're old and in a nursing home we're going to do some crazy stuff just to mess with students. Some ideas: rolling around naked in our wheelchairs, randomly singing kid songs (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star), and just staring at them with a blank face. Can't wait to see the reactions!
~Brittani
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psalms 37:4
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