Module 1: Introduction
Masonicare Senior Living
Wallingford, CT
Long-Term Care
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Masonicare is a multi-service senior facility focusing on those over the age of 55 years. During my rotation I was able to work in almost all of the areas including: assisted living, memory care, and rehabilitation sections. Masonicare also offers independent living on campus.
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Masonicare's mission:
An Ageless Commitment to Caring
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Masonicare has a long history, going back to the 1960's when it was one of the earliest healthcare providers to be certified to accept Medicare! Today, from three retirement communities to hospice care, there are almost 5,000 residents being cared for each day.
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I had a great experience here, being able to attend many interdisciplinary meetings with management, do specialty wound rounds with a wound specialist, and attend trainings with newly hired employees on top of caring for patients with a great team of RD's.
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I learned the important aspects critical to caring for the older population, such as hydration status, ambulatory abilities, and vital importance of working with speech pathology in making sure residents are safe while eating.
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A special case we worked on was a newly wired jaw which was a new experience for the facility. I worked with dining services, the Clinical Manager, and directly with the patient to ensure adequate nutrition was being provided appropriately.
Connecticut Children's
Harford, CT
Acute Care
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During my acute-care portion of my internship I was at Connecticut Children's (previously Connecticut Children's Medical Center), where I also completed my food service rotation.
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This is an acute-care hospital with 185 beds. It is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
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This portion of my internship is what I looked towards the most and feel the most proud of. I worked on: three different
Med-surg floors,
- Pediatric ICU
- Feeding team
- Weight management
- Metabolic clinic
&
Allergy clinic!
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I sat on the National Nutrition month committee, attended rounds with the residents and nursing staff each day (which was one of my favorite parts! I learned so much during these) and was part of meetings around the new milk room that was built for our patients and NICU families. This new system transitioned an old protocol into a new barcoding system with new staff just for milk preparation and fortification!
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*Due to COVID-19 pandemic occurring during March, some hours were completed virtually. Appropriate hours and competencies were still met.
Module 2:
Ethics &
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Professional Developement
Professional Organization meeting was attended during FSM rotation. I attended the Annual Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD) meeting in Houston, TX with the GSD team from Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
Case Studies completed during orientation on campus at Marywood University.
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Health Promotion Project
Due to COVID-19, we were unable to execute our National Nutrition Day plans. We had flyers posted throughout the hospital, engaging games to education families and staff on healthy beverages and snacking, as well as beverages, snacks, and a overflowing basket of all the necessities to go along with our theme! We were going to track the participants with raffle tickets, track results of questions asked, and had the food service department preparing a healthy meal to be served in the cafe as part of the celebration of nutrition. All needed items are purchased and ready to go once it is safe to do so. Our table and display with nutrition team members representing us was going to be at the entrance of the cafe in front of the elevators so it can't be missed!
Module 3: Nutritional Screening & Assessment
Due to not having access to my site during the pandemic, I was unable to sift through all of my notes and select certain options to display my work. I have attached those that I have, and hope to update when I can!
Module 4:
Case Study
Module 5: Education & Counseling
Motivational Interviewing
I saw four patients on average per day, as well as had days in clinic (Feeding Team, Metabolic Clinic, Weight Management) during this time I continued to strengthen my motivation interviewing skills.
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My MI document was completed in my community rotation. During my Acute rotations I had a meeting with my preceptors and management every Friday to discuss areas I was doing well in and areas to work on. MI was continuously something I excelled in!
Long Term Care
& Ped's
Module 6:
I completed these with both Kathleen Kuba, RD. and Kelley Breyer, RD.
I looked at my facilities report (Masonicare) but also during my rotation here, one of my family members had a severe heart attack requiring her to move into a facility, although a terrible incident, my rotation had made me much more aware of what to look for and how. Attached is the inspection report for a facility my aunt was planning to take her to in California. Balboa Nursing and Rehabilitation center.
Module 7: Quality Management
This PI project began during my time in the PICU. With so many different heart conditions, I discussed creating a guide to remember the distinguishing differences to better follow along during rounds with the residents.