Day in the life of a dietetic C placement student

Hey guys, if you’ve seen my previous blog post, you’d know that I’m over halfway through my C placement! This is my final placement on my dietetics course and it’s flying by, I’m learning so much. I thought I’d do a typical day in the life for people to know what placement is like. My hours are 8.30-4.30 but this will depend on your hospital.

8.15am: arrive at the hospital and get changed. Because of COVID we have to wear our own clothes to the hospital and change into our uniform on site. After changing I organise myself for the day and make sure I have everything I need to take to the wards e.g., my calculator and my PENG (aka the dietetics bible).

8.45am: I head up the dietetics office to find the dietitian I’m with today. The dietitian gives me some patients that we are going to see on the oncology (cancer) wards, and I start collecting their latest blood results from the computer. Getting their bloods is part of the information gathering process and can give us an idea of how the patient is doing. E.g., a high sodium level means a patient is dehydrated.

9.40am: head to the oncology ward

9.45: gather more information from the medical/nursing notes to get a fuller picture about the first patient. The patient has a pressure ulcer, which is skin that is badly damaged. This means the patient needs more protein and calories to help repair the skin. I speak to the patient and they agree to have some nutritional supplement drinks that are a concentrated source of nutrients. I then write in the medical notes to document everything that I’ve gathered and the plan I made with the patient.

10.45am: I observe the dietitian speak to a patient that wasn’t eating very well. The patient wasn’t eating as they were struggling to swallow their food and feared choking, so they avoided most meals. The dietitian tried to establish what textures of food that the patient was struggling with and whether they choked on fluids too. The dietitian planned to make a referral to the speech and language therapists who can assess a patient’s swallow. Doing this will identify what texture is safe for the patient to have.

11.15am: I start gathering information for my next patient from the medical and nursing notes. This patient has lost some weight and isn’t eating very well. I speak to them with the dietitian watching. They didn’t want to have nutritional supplements so we order them extra snacks that will provide some energy and protein. I then documented everything we discussed in the medical notes.

12.30pm: lunch 😊

This afternoon I’m doing gastroenterology outpatient phone calls. This includes things like irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. I did the phone calls by myself with the supervising dietitian listening in.

1pm: I take some time to gather information about the patients we have to call so I’m prepared. This includes looking at letters from their doctors and seeing any blood or diagnostic tests they may have had.

1.45pm: first phone call is a patient with IBS, their main complaint was constipation. I gave advice about increasing their fibre and fluid advice. The patient also mentioned that they had some unintentional weight loss, so I gave advice about adding extra energy and protein to foods.

2.15pm: the next few patients didn’t pick up, which is always a possibility when doing phone clinics

2.45pm: the next person that picked up was a patient with coeliac disease and it was an annual review to see how they were doing with their gluten free diet. The patient was managing really well and so they were discharged from the dietetic service.

3.20pm: another patient with IBS. This patient was experiencing pain and nausea with everything they ate, and I wasn’t sure what to advise so I handed over to the dietitian. The dietitian suggested trying the low FODMAPs diet. This is a therapeutic diet that should only be advised under the supervision of a qualified health professional.

4pm: time to write letters to the patients. After seeing an outpatient, you have to write a letter back to the doctor that referred the patient to you. This is to let the doctor know that you’ve seen the patient and made a plan. The patient will also get a copy of this letter as a summary of the appointment. You also have to write a letter to the patients that didn’t pick up, so there is a record of you trying to contact them

4.30pm: home time! I didn’t finish writing all the letters so will finish later on in the week.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into dietetics! I think posts like this makes it easier for people that are considering the course to have an idea of what placement is like. If you have any questions about the course or placement feel free to ask me!

Bye for now! 👋