A site for practical nutrition information for student dietitians, DTRs, and RDNs, featuring guest blogs from students or RDNs who would like to gain writing experience.
While working with my preceptor in a long-term care facility, I found several resources to be helpful to have on hand. These included a few handy pocket guides, a useful app on my phone, some evidence-based websites, and my go-to textbook. The resources a student or intern finds most helpful will depend on the … Continue reading Topic 4: Helpful Resources for Students and Interns by Jessie Donaldson
Effective communication lies at the core of every patient interaction. For RDs and interns in long-term care (LTC) facilities, there are some unique challenges to overcome when communicating with residents. During my time as a student-intern, I learned about these obstacles and saw the unique ways in which they can be overcome. Factors that … Continue reading Topic 2: The Art of Communication in a Long-Term Care Setting by Jessie Donaldson, Student Intern
Dietitians in all fields rely on interprofessional collaboration, and this is clearly necessitated in long-term care (LTC) settings. LTC RDNs utilize ongoing relationships with allied healthcare providers to deliver comprehensive and effective patient care. The outline below describes the ways in which these professionals work together. Foodservice Manager (FSM) The FSM is the person with whom the RDN works with most closely. The FSM is in charge of all … Continue reading Topic 3: Interprofessional Relationships in Long-Term Care by Jessie Donaldson, Student Dietitian
4/20/2020 Topic 1: The Importance of Meal Rounds in Long-Term Care Long-term care RDNs rely heavily on observation to identify and address feeding issues in residents. As a student, I was surprised to find just how important meal rounds are. As I assisted my preceptor in meal rounds, I learned a lot about the … Continue reading An intern’s perspective: Series written by Jessie Donaldson (Part 1 of 5)
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the CDC recommended that the residents eat in their rooms. This was a problem for one of my units with a large dementia population. One resident was so distraught that she couldn't go out of her room that she threw her food on the floor and also did end … Continue reading COVID-19: Troubleshooting issues with room isolation and restriction of visitors (part 2)
To prevent the spread of Covid-19, the CDC recommended that residents at nursing facilities have meals in their rooms and that they do not have visitors. This also included having family members and friends bring in food. This had been going on since mid-march 2020. What I didn't realize was that there were some residents … Continue reading COVID-19: Troubleshooting issues with room isolation and restriction of visitors (part 1)
F Tag 807 is: Drinks Available to Meet Needs/Preferences/Hydration-this blog post gives specific examples of why this tag was out of compliance at four facilities. It also stresses the importance of providing fresh water to all residents. This is a must read for students and RDNs who want to understand more about the compliance of … Continue reading F Tag 807
As of 11/22/17, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services developed new F-tags to determine the quality of care provided to residents in long term care. Here are the updated regulations: 483.25 Assisted Nutrition and Hydration F692 and F693: Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (formally F327) 483.30 Physician Delegation F715-Physician delegation of tasks in SNFs 483.60 … Continue reading Updated “F” tag regulations
Written by: McKenna M. Murphy, Student Dietitian Introduction Telemedicine “healing from a distance” in healthcare professions attempts to deliver health care services and information at a distance through electronic devices to improve access, quality, and cost. Telemedicine ranges from live interactive video for consultations, mHealth or the use of mobile devices for patient self-management, … Continue reading Use of Telemedicine by Registered Dietitians (RDs) to Improve Healthcare for Patients
Starting a private practice is no easy task, but it can certainly be done! The graduate program I enrolled in was “Entrepreneurial” based, meaning I wrote a business plan and was required to take finance classes. The program I graduated from was awesome, and I learned how to be an effective, evidence-based Registered Dietitian… but … Continue reading Starting a Private Practice as a Dietitian: How to Simply START by Jessica Dorner MS, RD
Mix 4oz ice cream with chocolate milk Mix 4oz Magic Cup with 8oz whole milk or Ensure Plus Extra cottage cheese at a meal (can be puréed also) Add 30 mL liquid protein to 4oz juice 1oz peanut butter with toast or English Muffin each morning Give whole milk q meal Mix peach yogurt with … Continue reading 15 easy ways to increase calories in LTC
I am a RDN with over 25 years of experience in LTC. Over the past few years, I have been working with students as a preceptor. This led me to create four nutrition presentations that have proven to be helpful to student dietitians and diet technicians. In fact, I have recently updated the videos as … Continue reading Ace your LTC/Clinical Rotation
Dietitian Mentor 