Kennesaw State University Community Rotation

Learning Outcome Eight: Behave professionally and ethically in dietetic service

and practice and demonstrate an ability to participate in and conduct program
evaluation.
The rotation at Kennesaw State University (KSU) was extremely helpful. Prior to
my rotation at KSU, I did not imagine myself working in individual counseling, but found
I really enjoyed it. During my undergraduate coursework, I found the counseling class
to be difficult because in case study assignments, I always imagined what the clients
goals should be just by looking at their information. I could not seem to naturally be
client centered in my counselling style during the class. By the end of mock counseling
sessions, my feedback from my professor, Dr. Henes, usually included something to the
effect of a bit too pushy and ask more open ended questions in the future.
Understandably, I was a bit nervous to lead counseling sessions at KSU.
When I was able to counsel students at KSU, client centered counseling seemed
to come naturally. After reviewing their information, I established talking points and did
not try to prematurely develop goals and interventions. Goals and interventions came
from my conversation with the client. During my KSU rotation, I was able to incorporate
some of the lessons I had learned from my graduate level counseling course. One
lesson in particular is a method of counseling we studied by Molly Kellogg. She
implements a three position counseling style where throughout the session you put
yourself in three different positions. The 1st position, is as myself, using my own
subjective information I am getting from what I am hearing the client say and what I see
from the clients body language. The 2nd position is the clients position. I imagine
myself as the client, using empathy as my template for understanding and counseling.
The 3rd position is as a fly on the wall. I must recognize any barriers being put up by
myself or the client. Is my chair in a personable but not too intrusive position? Is the
client comfortable or distracted by something in the environment? Is there judgement
coming from me or the client that I need to address? Being mindful of these positions,
switching from one to the other throughout the session made the client centered
counseling more effective and attainable.
The counseling experience was an unexpectedly positive, but I must say, the
most fulfilling part of my rotation at Kennesaw State was the Cooking Matters
Demonstration. My preceptor is extremely organized, she had the process for the demo
down to a tee. I completed a planning guide for demonstrators provided by Cooking
Matters for my preceptor to review. She gave me feedback on the recipes and lessons I
chose, and she gave me a whole morning the day prior to practice the recipe. She was
there with me as I began to teach the lesson, not interrupting, but adding important
points as needed, which I appreciated. I was nervous and not as comfortable as she
was with the audience and the process, so her additions were absolutely welcomed!
What I am comfortable with is teaching and working in the kitchen. So, when it came
time to instruct on how to dice zucchini, or how to properly brown the tortillas, I was very

comfortable and found the experience to be exhilarating! Lucky for me, the demo was
the first one completed in the new kitchen. I was honored to be the first person to enjoy
the amazing facility KSU had built specifically for the Nutrition department. Working in
the KSU demo kitchen gave me hope in the possibilities to improve student health.
KSU is an example of how colleges can utilize dietitians to implement nutrition classes
and workshops to prevent obesity in their population.
We did not simply remain in the nutrition office to do one on one counselling and
classes. We went to the dining hall on several occasions and involved the students in
an interactive game to increase their knowledge and have the opportunity to invite them
to group classes and cooking demos. Word travels fast at school, and free food is
always a big hit! As more students hear about the services offered at KSU, they will
learn more about staying healthy and making better choices throughout their time there.
The philosophy the KSU preceptor teaches is that its OK to eat anything in moderation
and that the scale does not define us! Its obvious that her presence is felt on campus
because her schedule is completely booked for 6 weeks out!
While interacting with the students at Kennesaw State I was able to consider
ethical practices with the guidance of my preceptor. I was given the task of counseling,
where I exercised professional judgement within the limits of my qualifications, sought
help, and collaborated with others. In one session, it turned out that I knew the student
through my daughter. I spoke with my preceptor and she was able to provide guidance
in handling the situation. I spoke to the student, explained my ethical responsibility to
keep our conversation confidential and any limitations of my ability to do so. My
experience at KSU changed me in a way that I was not expecting. Through the actions
of my preceptor, I have learned more about the dietetic profession and how to be a
good preceptor. When I become an RDN, I plan to become a preceptor to give future
students an experience like this preceptor gave me.
I have already used what I learned from the rotation at KSU in other rotations.
For example, the KSU preceptor always does a pre and post survey and when I was at
the AbsoluteCare HIV clinic I found out they only do a post survey. I spoke with the
preceptor about the use of the pre survey to further advocate the need for their services.
The pre survey helps to give insight as to how much a person learns from the classes
offered, rather than just a yes or no on whether the class was helpful. There is power
to defend your position as an integral part of the patient care team when you can prove
the specific increases in knowledge that people gain through the services you offer. If I
had not been able to record specific increases in knowledge collected in the pre-post
surveys at KSU, I would not have had the ability to be instrumental in that area at my
rotation at AbsoluteCare.
I chose to include my OWL Balance Nutrition Questionnaire improvement project
as my artifact. In this project I enhanced the format and used techniques learned in
counselling to change the SMART goal setting process. I added likert scales to assess

motivation and confidence as well as more detail about how set a goal that is SMART,
making it more likely that you would succeed in your attempt to change health habits.
Overall, I intend to add this experience to my professional toolkit which will assist me in
becoming a successful dietitian in the future. I will keep in mind things I learned in this
rotation as I go forward, like how to reach out to my population group, how to effectively
counsel, and how to advocate for my position. This rotation was fulfilling to the utmost
effect and I am forever grateful for the opportunity I received by attending an internship
at Kennesaw State University.