Nutrition 302L: Course Reflection Statement

When I found out I was going to take a research based nutrition lab, I was very excited.
Before the start of spring semester I started volunteering as an undergrad research assistant for
Dr. Mark Kerns Dried Plum Study. I enjoyed helping out with the study and I was excited to
apply what I was going to learn in Nutrition 302L to the Dried Plum Study. Though I was
already acquainted with the world of nutrition research, I was still interested to learn more. After
taking the lab this semester, I found that I did indeed learn a lot more, which helped me apply
what I learned to what I was volunteering my time to.
In this lab we learned more about the material that was covered in Nutrition 302 lecture
with a research background. We learned how to assess for different biochemical tests such as
iron status and blood glucose. We also learned how to write Nutrition Care Process (NCP) notes
with different case studies. Though Nutrition 302L is a research lab, the activities we learned are
still important for my future career aspirations. Much of what was done in this lab is applicable if
I want to become a clinical registered dietitian. As a clinical RD it is important to know and
interpret results of patients different biochemical tests in order to create a proper NCP note.
One activity/assignment that stood out to me was the anthropometry lab. For this lab we
went to the ENS annex and went through different ways of measuring body fat. Some of the
equipment we used includes calipers, bod pod, bioelectrical impedance (BIA), and the
underwater weighing. I was excited to see some of the equipment that I see the graduate research
assistants from Dr. Kerns study use during participant screening visits (such as the bod pod and
the bioelectrical impedance) and some equipment that Ive never seen used before (like the
underwater weighing). This lab stood out from the other labs weve done because we were able
to see for ourselves how these forms of measurement are used. Through this lab I realized that
measuring body fat can be difficult at times and requires a lot of training beforehand.
I enjoyed the way the lab TA, Mike Stone, taught the material. He always made sure to
elaborate on difficult topics from his PowerPoints, which were a great resource in general for
facilitating my understanding of the material. He always made sure to check that everyone
understood a concept and was very open about talking/giving advice about anything
school/research/internship related.
Overall I enjoyed taking Nutrition 302L. It was an interesting lab that taught very
interesting and relevant material related to nutrition. I enjoyed all the activities and assignments
so much I feel like the course is perfect as is and doesnt need to be changed for improvement.