Do Something Everyday!

The application process is like a full time job.  It takes a lot of time, effort and persistance to get it all finished and complete in time.  It can also be incredibly overwhelming!  So one of the best pieces of advice that I have is do something everyday.  This can be as simple as entering your course work into DICAS, requesting a transcript from a previous school, adding a new volunteer event to your resume, mailing an application fee or even just proofreading something that you have already written for the internship. 

I found it really helpful to organize myself.  I made personal checklists that outlined everything that I needed to complete and turn in for each program and I slowly checked off each item as it was completed.  This made it easier to take small steps towards getting everything finished.  It was also motivating to see the progress that I was making. 

Here is a sample of one of the checklists that I made for one of the programs that I applied to. This allowed me to keep track of costs, deadlines and dates when documents were requested, submitted and received.  This document also included contact information for the program and the internship director so that I could send a quick email or make a phone call if I had a question.  You will also notice notes like "include email address on check".  Some programs have special requests and this allowed me to keep track of those. 

Ohio State University

Deadline: February 15^th

§  DICAS Application-$20                  Date Submitted:                      Date Received:

§  References                                      Date Requested:                      Date Received:

§  Personal Statement                       Date Submitted                       Date Received:

§  Declaration of Intent                     Date Submitted:                      Date Received:

§  Official Transcripts

o   Front Range          Date Requested:              Date Received:

o   CU                          Date Requested:              Date Received:

o   Metro                    Date Requested:              Date Received:

§  Computer Matching-$50  Date Registered:              Date Received:

o   Mail to:

D&D Digital Systems

Suite 301

304 Main Street

Ames, IA 50010

§  Application Fee-$40         Date Submitted:               Date Received:

Include email address on check

o   Mail to:

Julie Kennel

Director, Dietetic Internship Program

315E Campbell Hall

1787 Neil Ave.

Columbus, Ohio 43210

§  Contact Info:

o   Julie Kennel

Director, Dietetic Internship Program

315E Campbell Hall

1787 Neil Ave.

Columbus, Ohio 43210

Full Swing!

Wow, I really need to get better at updating my blog!  Once a month is not very frequently enough but it's a testament to how busy I've been to this point.   Our research project is now in full swing, we are to the point where we have weekly deadlines.  I'm also counseling clients in the women's health clinic and we have been given our clinical and food service checklists.  I didn't think that it could get much busier but I was wrong!  We are also still continuing to work off of the community and administrative checklists while attending trainings and meetings weekly.

We had a clinical review session today and at first I nearly had a panic attack.  It seems so overwhelming!  As the session went on, the RD (who is a former intern from my agency) reassured us that we won't be expected to know everything and that the goal is to move us from where we are now to the next stage.  We also got to meet with a technician in the cardiac cath lab and that was really interesting.  He was also really interesting so it was nice to lighten the mood a bit. 

I've started in the women's health clinic and I've counseled two patients on my own.  The hardest part about this rotation has been realizing how much these women are going through.  Some have found lumps in their breasts and are scared about that, many are going through divorces and other tough life scenarios, some are finding that they have high blood sugar, and many are in situational poverty which makes for a unique series of situations to offer nutritional counseling.  

Since I last wrote, we had a DiSC personality training which was really interesting and very enlightening.  I'm a DC which probably isn't much of a surprise to anyone who knows me.  D's are leaders and are often the ones to take charge.  C's are really organized.  That's me.  It was also very enlightening to think of even in terms of our personal relationships.  For instance my husband is a ID which makes for interesting conversations in our house.  I tend to say things as they come to mind (that I might not really mean) and he is much more of a feelings person.  He's also the "people" person which is definately the truth.  Everyone loves him as do I! :)

We also go to visit the local food bank and back boxes for the commodity supplemental foods program which was really fun.  I also had the opportunity to visit with a private practice dietitian and she invited me to write a guest blog for a website that she works for called MyNetDiary.  I will link to that post as soon as it's posted.  I've attended a breast feeding training which was great but really fed my baby fever! I also got to visit another local food pantry that absolutely blew my mind with all of the incredible services that they provide including bus tokens, assistance to obtain supplies for work as well as assistance in obtaining identification.  I also had the amazing opportunity to attend a Hunger Summit and to meet with an eating disorder therapist.


Food service is coming up really quickly, I will be starting in just a couple of weeks and I'm excited to get into an outside rotation.  I think this is a great place for me to start given that I have a background in food service and that it will be a fun environment to work in the schools.