People require dietary counseling for a variety of medical conditions including diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, and many more random reasons. Counseling is a talent, it takes practice. I strictly observed the dietitian this week, paying close attention to her techniques. Motivational interviewing is used to get the client to find answers and solutions to their own problems by asking them the right questions. Some clients come in to the counseling session expecting the dietitian to come up with solutions to all of their problems. They want the RD to tell them exactly what to eat or what not to eat. Some people have unrealistic weight loss goals and simply don't know that the high fat, high sugar foods they are currently eating are standing in the way of their weight loss success. I assisted the RD with educating a newly diagnosed gestational diabetic. I got to teach her how to follow a consistent carbohydrate diet for the duration of her pregnancy. Being an outpatient RD is interesting and tiring. An initial visit is usually at least an hour or over two hours of hearing about the client's story, motivating, and teaching. When the sessions were done I charted on them using the nutrition care process and then the RD checked it over and faxed it to the doctor's office.
Over the weekend I enjoyed the sunny skies with temperatures in the 70s and went for a really long run around White Rock Lake.
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