Field Placement:  Veterans Administration--Greater Los Angeles Area
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Preceptor: Colleen Ross
Student Name: Kaitlyn Carrozi
Year: 2008

From June 2008-September 2008, I completed Phase I- Community Rotations of my dietetic internship as a part of the combined program with the Masters of Public Health Program at UCLA.  Rotations were completed at the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital, the Long Beach Veterans Hospital, the Sepulveda Veterans Hospital, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and Canyon Country WIC.

Each location provided me with a different learning experience. Throughout the course of my internship I completed rotations in ambulatory care, food service production, home-based primary care, administrative dietetics, and community nutrition. I was able to do one on one counseling as well as teach group classes and work with diverse populations (veterans, women, children, HIV/AIDS patients). At each rotation I had the opportunity to work with a different registered dietitian who acted as my preceptor for that rotation.

During the Phase I, I worked on many different projects. I created patient education materials, taught  weight loss and diabetes classes, create and teach a food and water safety class, screen, interview, and counsel patients, follow a controlled carbohydrate diet and monitor my blood glucose, and help  revise the diet manual for the Long Beach VA campus. I grew both professionally and personally during this internship.     

This phase of my internship allowed me to apply techniques and theory that I learned in the classroom to a practical work experience. I was able to translate the health behavior and behavior change theories we learned in class to my counseling sessions. This was a very fulfilling experience.

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