Good morning! Happy weekend!
As I shared with you earlier this week, I would love to share more about my job. My new position is as the Director of Nutrition Services at a small hospital in southwest Michigan. Being the small facility that we are, I wear many hats and I absolutely love it that way. As much as love patient care, I’ve learned I also love managing people. It has been a great fit for me and just as much as I love hearing about other people’s work, I hope of you enjoy hearing about mine!
On this particular day, I worked out in the morning as I didn’t have any early morning meetings. I typically don’t workout in the mornings (I should change this, however!) and leave for work at 7:30am 🙂 Other than that, this is pretty typical!
8:00am – Leave for work
8:35am – At my office, check email, check voicemail, check in with the cook
9:00am – Calculate nutrition information for the lunch menu in the cafe, research eco-friendly to-go containers for the cafeteria, type up department meeting agenda, make copies for the meeting, reading and responding to emails all the while…and eating breakfast (coffee, an apple, and 2 more graham crackers — I had had one before my morning run)
10:30am – Meet with the Wellness Center Director and a grant-funded RD who we may partner with to combat childhood obesity and create a families healthy cooking + activity program. In the meeting, get a call about a question an RN had about a tube-fed patient on the floor.
12:00pm – Head back to the hospital and to the Special Care Unit to see the patient and RN. Reassess, look at new labs and orders, change tube-feed and recalculate the formula rate, chart
12:30pm – Lunch in the cafe is busy, check in there to see if anyone needs help. All is good and the kitchen supervisor has everything under control.
12:40pm – Check emails, make flyers for my next cooking class, start typing my proposal to the clinic coordinators and pediatricians for the childhood obesity program
1:30pm – Lunch. I eat with my staff in the cafe. We get free food which is so nice, especially since we have healthy options and lots of them! 🙂
2:00pm – Staff meeting with my 9 employees and the hospital CFO (my boss).
3:00pm – I place a few calls about getting our patient menus translated into Spanish, check voicemail, order more menus to have in patient rooms (laminated), and speak with the Facilities Director about getting a new fryer and how we can rearrange our kitchen equipment to avoid the oven’s electrical panel from overheating and going out (a recurring $1,000 expense to repair)
4:00pm – My out-patient arrives. She is a gestational diabetic due in late November. We meet over in Diabetes Education.
4:45pm – Kitchen supervisor and I talk about the meeting from earlier, I check voicemail, return a call on billing for Medicaid
5:30pm – Head home.
I love the variety in my job most — never a dull moment! What do you love about your job the most?
Be well,
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
September 15, 2012 at 9:42 amloved reading this!! i actually have a day in the life of a dietetic intern post scheduled for tuesday 🙂
Samantha says
September 15, 2012 at 2:31 pmHi Nicole!
As a new RD, looking for a job, I didn’t think I was interested in management/food service. But I love the variety in your day! It has made me reconsider.. 🙂
Nicole, RD says
September 17, 2012 at 1:18 pmSamantha, I thoroughly enjoy the food service portion of my job. I’m glad you’re reconsidering 🙂 Not for everyone, but I love it!
Kate says
September 16, 2012 at 1:06 amYour day seems kind of fun! Or maybe that’s just because mine is so full of last minute crises.
Nicole, RD says
September 17, 2012 at 1:19 pmCrises sure make days fly! 😉
Gina (The Candid RD) says
September 16, 2012 at 6:55 amI’ve always thought about a job like this, ever since I had a preceptor who did something very similar. I think this job sounds so amazing!! It’s challenging, rewarding, and it sounds busy enough that your days probably fly by. Glad you like your new job Nicole!!! I’m sure you are great at it.
Biz says
September 16, 2012 at 10:36 amI would love your job!! Mine is boring – a 9th grader could do it. Well, until trial prep comes along, but other than that, pretty sure anyone can make copies, scan and answer the phone!
Were you in Oak Park this weekend?
Nicole, RD says
September 17, 2012 at 1:19 pmI was! I got a late start that way because I had a migraine Friday, but yes! 🙂 It was a jam packed weekend, otherwise I’d have recruited you for a get together! 🙂
Mel says
September 16, 2012 at 11:09 amI live in Southwest Michigan! And if I’m correct about which hospital, I used to work there. I’m an OT. 🙂 It’s a great community…. Congrats on your new position!
Kristen (swanky dietitian) says
September 16, 2012 at 3:54 pmI loved hearing about your day!
I agree that it is nice to have variety of job activities throughout the day.
I just got a new job doing health and wellness for employees at a hotel on the strip. I am still in orientation, but it sounds like I will be wearing many hats too! I am looking forward to that. 🙂
Jessie says
September 18, 2012 at 11:06 amYou do so much in a single day — I’m so impressed! I imagine it must be so exciting, never boring, and never the same thing each day! I love reading about what other RDs do — there’s such a variety out there. As funny as it sounds, I love using a computer program to work out nutritional information for the residential center I work for. It’s like a puzzle. When it all fits, it’s so satisfying!
Addie says
September 20, 2012 at 4:04 pmThanks so much for posting this! I am currently working at WIC – which I think is a great experience every RD should have, but after a year I’m definitely ready to move on to bigger things… Love to have an idea of what a job like this would entail!