Field Placement:  Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Preceptor: Colleen Ross
Student Name: Margaret Grosvenor
Year: 2008

Field work studies completed at the GLA VA dietetic internship include outpatient and community rotations. This involves working with preceptors within the VA including Registered Dietitians in ambulatory care, hematology and oncology, cardiac rehab, women’s clinic, diabetes clinic, weight loss group, home based primary care and administration. The community setting includes Head Start preschool program and Women Infants and Children (WIC). The focus is Public Health Nutrition. Nutrition education is the primary role for the intern in this position and many different experiences are offered during the course of the 400 hour program.

Nutrition education projects include group and individual experiences targeted at different audiences including patients, employees, mothers and children. Classes given in a group setting at the VA include diabetes education and carbohydrate counting, weight loss support group and Motivating Overweight Veterans Everywhere (MOVE). Community group education includes classes for Head Start employees on healthy living strategies and lessons for children at Head Start. Other community group nutrition education experiences include WIC employee and client education that teaches methods of incorporating program foods at WIC into daily meal patterns. Individual education includes one on one counseling with patients at the VA during the various clinics and outpatient rotations on topics including prevention and/or treatment of chronic diseases including type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiopulmonary disease, coronary heart failure, coronary artery disease, liver disease, HIV, cancer and renal disease. Other individual counseling opportunities in the community are at WIC. These sessions primarily involve topics focused on the mother such as nutrition during pregnancy and weight gain, breastfeeding and nutrition during this phase. Topics for children at WIC include weight and growth trends, anemia, food preferences and initiation of appropriate textured foods for children based on age and level of development.     

These educational opportunities for the patients and clients in these settings provide an outlet to healthcare for many underserved communities and also a continuation of care for those who are being seen for other health reasons. By offering preventative services and education, patients and community members are empowered to improve their own health status. This sense taking action in one’s own health leads to decreased preventable health problems and delays progression of diseases to more debilitating states. This also ultimately leads to decreased healthcare costs for individuals, families, communities and society.  

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