Question: Describe a routine day?
It would be hard to describe a “typical” day, but that is what makes our role exciting! We follow patients from pre-transplant, when they may be very ill and hospitalized, though their post-operative period and beyond. We use a variety of communication approaches including in person, ambulatory clinic visits, phone calls and e-mails. With COVID-19 we have started to have virtual visits with families which can have advantages. For example, we can better assess how families prepare feeds or what foods they might offer as they can grab the product, bowl or cup from their kitchen and show us in real time!
One of the aspects we most enjoy about being a dietitian is the variety of work in a day – encompassing clinical ward rounds, calculations of feeds and nutrients to talking and listening and counselling families. We may conduct practical hands on education with cooking or label reading and are always in demand for new snack ideas!
A large part of the role of the dietitian is to interact with other team members to support and enhance the patient experience. We work closely with doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses to manage fluids and electrolytes and nutrition support. We work with child life specialists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers to optimize oral feeding and provision of services when patients are discharged. Frequent multidisciplinary rounds keep us focused and allow for sharing of information, concerns and updates.
When time allows, we engage in committee work, such as IPTA as well as research.