Kent State Interns

Trying to keep finding articles that were recent and related to both management and nutrition, this article was in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics earlier this year.  While a longer article, a survey was created to find out what makes up an advanced RD practitioner.  Of the 28 traits describing the approaches to practice, leadership roles like leader, visionary, preceptor, role model, and change agent were determined to be essential.  The study found that leadership is a core attribute that transcends advanced-level practice instead of being equated with a specific position or title. The article mentions a study that found similar results, with leadership expressed as “the ability to make a contribution or difference", not by a title.  Patient care was also emphasized as a top trait.  Very interesting article, and it goes to show that what we are learning now can really help us grow as leaders as we advance throughout our careers, whateve...

     As a future RD, I often wonder how hospital food service directors who happen to be Registered Dietitians became so proficient in creating a budget(accounting) or human resource management which contains a huge psychological component?  As part of our DPD curriculum, organizational management classes and accounting were required but a semester is hardly long enough to become proficient in topics and I've noticed food service managers typically having backgrounds in hospitality management. Interestingly, this abstract   (journal only available for purchase) from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association strives to answer are RD's adequately prepared to be hospital food service directors? In the study, 500 random hospital food service directors and 500 hospital executives to whom directors report were mailed a questionnaire with competencies listed. These individuals were to first state if they thought the competencies were important for someone i...

     In our management seminar we discussed the difference between transformational and laissez faire leaders. A transformational leader inspires a shared vision with constituents and frequently communicates with team members delegating responsibilities. A laissez faire leader will allow his/her colleagues to get work done independently without supervision.  Interestingly, in this article it was shown that retail managers who were identified as laissez faire leaders based on an MLQ questionnare were likely to score lower on the CMS Questionnare or Conflict Management Resolution Solutions Scale.   Sound leadership with appropriate conflict management skills are necessary in the retail world because conflict can arise at any moment from personnel, customers, and/or competition. Unfortunately, results of this study also showed many of the participants tended to have a laissez faire leadership style. When these leaders are refusing to avoid conflict this c...

Hey everyone! I attended a seminar a few days ago, which covered some new trends in nutrition.  One of the presenters was a wonderful Registered Sanitarian.  She covered additions to the Ohio Food Code that we all should be aware of--because this will apply to some of us in our rotations or at our future job sites! One change is that all supervisors must know the five CDC risk factors and how it applies to their facility.  These five risk factors are:  Purchasing food from an approved source  Using clean and sanitary equipment  Thoroughly cooking food  Holding food out of the temperature danger zone  Employee health and hygiene while prepping food She also discussed an interesting update to the health code.   As we are aware of, some foods—like cut tomatoes—are considered a TCS (time/temperature control for food safety) food.  Starting in January of 2013, there will be another group added to this list: ...

Hello Everyone, I know this is supposed to be more management based, but we sort of were talking about writing rights for dietitians, and this is the page on the Academy's website if you are interested. It is a good thing to know, especially if you do become a clinical nutrition manager. There is a nice PDF that walks through the tips for writing privileges for clincial dietitians. Order Writing and Privileging http://www.eatright.org/HealthProfessionals/content.aspx?id=7079 Rachel~

Having been a Girl Scout for quite some time when I was younger, I happened to find this article on leadership in young girls.  While leadership is a lifelong process, starting early makes a huge difference.  I know I personally have leadership skills from the many things I did as a Scout.  Female leadership in politics is not looked upon as favorably in our society (only 16.6% of Congress was female in 2011; 32 countries in the world have a female leader excluding the US), and so few girls choose to pursue a political career.  There are also gender stereotypes involved.  The article is quite long, but ties in some pop culture like Barbie for President and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blue .  This goes to prove that leadership can truly be found in any setting and is not restricted to a certain age or gender. C. Pfaff

As a future dietitian, it is important to keep up with what is going on in the field of Nutrition and Dietetics.  About a year ago I picked up the book,  Dietetics: Practice and Future Trends,  from my local library.  The authors of this book did a nice job of discussing the past, present and future to the profession of Nutrition and Dietetics.  As a student, I found this book to be beneficial because it provides a great overview of career opportunities that are both traditional and non-traditional.  If you are looking for a book to help guide you in your future career as a dietitian, I highly recommend picking this book up online or from your local library.  Read the books description below. Enjoy!     By Esther Winterfeldt, Margaret Bogle, Lea Ebro  -  Jones & Bartlett Learning  -  2010   Dietetics: Practice and Future Trends includes new and updated information about the profession of diete...