Kent State Interns

The myers briggs type indictor (MBTI) can be utilized by clinical nutrition managers (CNM) in many different ways. When organizing teams the results can be used to group people together who have similar personality types. It can also help group people together based on their strengths and weakness's. Understanding team members personalities allows CNMs to communicate with their employees. MBTI can also be used to motivate employees because not all motivation techniques work the same with everyone. When CMNs understand how their employees perceive and process information it will help create less conflict. They can also use it when hiring a new person to the team. CNMs will be able to develop a nutrition team that not only understands the nutrition care process but they also can work together to benefit patients/clients.  In addition the MBTI can also be used as a tool for CNMs to improve their leadership styles. The results can pin-point weak areas in their personalities that t...

Principles of Productivity in Food and Nutrition Services Productivity and quality have been well-recognized as two of the most important issues in healthcare organization management. In the 21 st century as health care costs continue to skyrocket, and new models of care are initiated, food and nutrition administrators are being continuously challenged with the expanding scope of their services and need to embrace innovative tactics to improve the productivity of their operations that are consistent with their organization’s mission and vision. Historically, single-factor ratio approaches such as meals/labor hour, meals/full-time employee, trays assembled/minutes, etc. have been used as productivity measures. However, these measures can limit a manager’s assessment of the departmental performance in the framework of the organization’s values and goals. That being said, with the increasing complexity in the health care environment food and nutrition managers need to expand th...

Personalities and Work Behaviors An article published by the Houston Small Business Chronicle highlighted four personality traits that affect performance in the work place. According to research, a person will perform better when paired with appropriate tasks for their personality trait. This can lead to better efficiency and less turn over due to increased job satisfaction. In group situations, people with outgoing personalities prefer to work with others whereas people with more introverted personalities may do best when working alone. Reversely, those who are more outgoing may not work as well alone. Work ethic, or the desire to perform well and work hard may be stronger in some employees than others. For those with a strong work ethic, they will likely work well without direct supervision and have motivation to find new projects or suggest new ideas. Those with a weaker work ethic may need more encouragement and supervision to accomplish tasks. Another personality trait to ...

Building a Multicultural Team Cultural diversity and tolerance is one of the pillars of foundation that the US is well-known for across the globe. In fact, diversity in the US continues to grow at rapid rates. According to the 2010 census more than one-third of the US population reported their race and ethnicity to be non-Hispanic white, demonstrating a 30% increase since 2000. This increase in diversity calls for the need for multicultural, culturally competent healthcare teams in hospitals and other healthcare institutes such as nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, etc. As a matter of fact, various research shows that multicultural healthcare models can improve patient outcomes by overcoming the language barrier (1 in every 10 individuals in the US are not fluent in English) and providing culturally sensitive outreach interventions. Registered dietitians, especially those in management positions need to embrace this model in their department to help improve the organiz...

Gregoire, M. B., & Theis, M. L. (2015). Practice Paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Principles of Productivity in Food and Nutrition Services: Applications in the 21st Century Health Care Reform Era. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , 115 (7), 1141-1147. Food and nutrition services, along with health care, is expanding and becoming more complex due to multiple organizational and environmental factors. For this reason, there has been a shift in the way managers approach productivity in order to address these complexities. For example, in the past, single-factor relationships have been used in order to examine the input and output of nutrition service operations. Today, a systems approach may be more appropriate in order to examine how inputs, outputs, and the whole process are interrelated and influence overall outcomes. The shifting healthcare environment requires food service directors to be more aware of the entire system and the efficiency of ...

Peregrin, T. (2011). Sustainability in foodservice operations: An update. Journal of the American Dietetic Association , 111 (9), 1286-1294. An increasing number of foodservice operations are conducting energy audits and developing comprehensive energy management programs. Sustainability is become more and more important to customers and food service managers are being pushed to implement smart kitchens and energy conservation programs. This involves replacing old and outdated equipment with newer more efficient equipment as well as paying more attention to water conservation. A lot of these endeavors will require large investments of money and time, and could take up to 10 years to see results. The goal of sustainability is to protect the environment without seeing significant financial drawbacks. RDs will likely be involved with engaging staff and team members in order to implement these sustainability plans.  

Aase, S. (2012). Hospital foodservice and patient experience: what's new?. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , 112 (5), S18-S22. Hospital foodservice is continuously evolving to meet growing expectations of patients and customers. Many operations have moved from normal service styles to room-service or cook-to-order menus in order to satisfy patient wishes. An article from 2011, written in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, explains that what is happening in hospital food service is similar to the trend seen in society, with more people eating out at restaurants where they expect to see many choices and high quality food. Hospital food service operations are constantly pushed to deliver more with less. Dietitians, food service managers, chefs, and the entire team are being challenged with higher food costs, increasing technological advances, and reductions in reimbursement. In order to keep customers satisfied, team members will ...