This week, being that many of the VA dietitians wanted to take some vacation, myself and two other interns are doing 'staff relief' where we cover for one of the dietitians who we've been with already. This week I am Karen, the extended care dietitian. Since Karen's been gone for four days now, there was a long list of people to see, lots of menus to correct, plus a few complaints from patients which made for a really busy day. It's the first time I've cut short my lunch and the first time I've had to stay after to finish everything ... maybe I'd rather just be an intern.
On the up-side, and it really wasn't a bad day despite the busy-ness, it's very encouraging to be able to do the work of a dietitian relatively unsupervised (an RD still has to co-sign my notes) and feel like I know what I'm doing. I guess this internship is serving it's purpose!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Open House Questions: Interviews and Application Letters
Last Friday was our open house for prospective applicants to the MVAMC program. Dan, one of the other interns, said he felt pretty important being part of the Q&A panel. For me it was just so strange to be answering questions that were my questions less than a year ago, and giving a tour of the VA (and trying to disguise my occasional glances at the map and round-about routes from still not totally knowing my way around) since I was on the other side of the process so recently.
The students asked some really good questions, particularly about application letters and interviews. The MVAMC actually doesn't interview applicants but Beth and Joanna (two other interns) shared about their phone interviews at other sites. Before interviewing they talked to students from the previous year or friends whose interviews were before theirs about the questions so they could prepare ahead of time. I didn't prepare for the interviews that I did - I just ad libbed - but maybe that's why I didn't get any of those internships??? I do remember that the VAs in Chicago and LA asked basically the same questions and that all three interviews (including Hines) asked a lot of questions about past experiences and how I dealt with them. I struggled the most with recalling times where I had experienced whatever the question was addressing so I think it's a good idea to at least think back over your past experiences before-hand so you don't draw a blank when you're on-the-spot.
Dan shared some really good advice regarding letter-writing as he's been reading the application letters of some his friends from school who are applying this year. He says take advantage of your space in the letter to talk about things that you don't get to talk about anywhere else. Or in other words, don't list your achievements and activities in your letter, impressive as they may be, because you already got to list them in the application. Sound counsel I'd say. I'm not sure that my application letter is a textbook example, but in case you're interested, I'm including it below.
Dear Ms. Hoover:
Greetings! I am writing to express my interest in the Minneapolis VA Medical Center Dietetic Internship Program and to explain how my experiences and skills would make me an asset to your facility as an intern.
For me, dietetics is the perfect field where three of my passions come together: my love of food and cooking that was first sparked by the 4-H foods and nutrition project, interest in biochemistry (it was my favorite subject even in high school!) and heart for teaching people how to live healthier lives. Right now my short-term goal is to gain additional clinical experience by completing a clinical dietetics internship and then working as a clinical dietitian, preferably with patients with Diabetes or renal failure as those diseases are prevalent in the Hispanic population. During that time I intent to continue improving my Spanish language skills, particularly my medical vocabulary. After a few years I want to transition to working as a community dietitian in the Hispanic community in the United States and ultimately work as a community dietitian in low-income communities in Latin America.
Several of my experiences as an undergraduate student have begun to prepare me for this career, particularly the semester I spent studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. This experience allowed me to become conversationally fluent in Spanish and taught me how to learn a new language – a skill that will be invaluable if I work in a community where a language other than English or Spanish is spoken. I wanted to get experience speaking Spanish in a medical setting so I inquired at a hospital near my school in Guadalajara and was offered a volunteer position helping in the kitchen and preparing an in –house diabetic diet meal plan. This experience was very valuable in expanding my vocabulary and understanding of the health-care system in Mexico.
When I visited the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in January I was impressed by the level of specialization and dedication to their area of practice among the dietitians. I know that I will receive a high-quality, thorough, clinically-focused experience which is my objective for the internship. Although my long-term career goal is community –focused, I want a solid clinical background because I believe that the knowledge and experience of clinical dietetics will make me a better community dietitian. I believe that the Minneapolis VA internship is one of the best places for obtaining that experience.
Although I enjoy interacting with and helping people, I am an independent person who doesn’t like confronting conflict especially when it means negotiating with others. Although I have the managerial skills of organization and efficiency, I need to improve my skills in human resource management and conflict resolution and am confident that I will have the opportunity to do so as an intern at your program. Some other unique and valuable skills that I would bring to your program include flexibility and patience, which I gained in Mexico where life moves at a slower and less organized pace than in the United States, an appreciation for diverse people and perspectives, a strong work ethic and the ability to solve problems creatively.
My career goals are evidence of my personal interests in languages, particularly Spanish, international travel and cooking. I also enjoy outdoor recreation such as hiking, running and cross-country skiing and consider myself a musician as I play the piano, oboe and guitar and enjoy singing.
As an intern I will do my best to use my skills to benefit your program and the people who you serve. Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Meg Dill
The students asked some really good questions, particularly about application letters and interviews. The MVAMC actually doesn't interview applicants but Beth and Joanna (two other interns) shared about their phone interviews at other sites. Before interviewing they talked to students from the previous year or friends whose interviews were before theirs about the questions so they could prepare ahead of time. I didn't prepare for the interviews that I did - I just ad libbed - but maybe that's why I didn't get any of those internships??? I do remember that the VAs in Chicago and LA asked basically the same questions and that all three interviews (including Hines) asked a lot of questions about past experiences and how I dealt with them. I struggled the most with recalling times where I had experienced whatever the question was addressing so I think it's a good idea to at least think back over your past experiences before-hand so you don't draw a blank when you're on-the-spot.
Dan shared some really good advice regarding letter-writing as he's been reading the application letters of some his friends from school who are applying this year. He says take advantage of your space in the letter to talk about things that you don't get to talk about anywhere else. Or in other words, don't list your achievements and activities in your letter, impressive as they may be, because you already got to list them in the application. Sound counsel I'd say. I'm not sure that my application letter is a textbook example, but in case you're interested, I'm including it below.
Dear Ms. Hoover:
Greetings! I am writing to express my interest in the Minneapolis VA Medical Center Dietetic Internship Program and to explain how my experiences and skills would make me an asset to your facility as an intern.
For me, dietetics is the perfect field where three of my passions come together: my love of food and cooking that was first sparked by the 4-H foods and nutrition project, interest in biochemistry (it was my favorite subject even in high school!) and heart for teaching people how to live healthier lives. Right now my short-term goal is to gain additional clinical experience by completing a clinical dietetics internship and then working as a clinical dietitian, preferably with patients with Diabetes or renal failure as those diseases are prevalent in the Hispanic population. During that time I intent to continue improving my Spanish language skills, particularly my medical vocabulary. After a few years I want to transition to working as a community dietitian in the Hispanic community in the United States and ultimately work as a community dietitian in low-income communities in Latin America.
Several of my experiences as an undergraduate student have begun to prepare me for this career, particularly the semester I spent studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. This experience allowed me to become conversationally fluent in Spanish and taught me how to learn a new language – a skill that will be invaluable if I work in a community where a language other than English or Spanish is spoken. I wanted to get experience speaking Spanish in a medical setting so I inquired at a hospital near my school in Guadalajara and was offered a volunteer position helping in the kitchen and preparing an in –house diabetic diet meal plan. This experience was very valuable in expanding my vocabulary and understanding of the health-care system in Mexico.
When I visited the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in January I was impressed by the level of specialization and dedication to their area of practice among the dietitians. I know that I will receive a high-quality, thorough, clinically-focused experience which is my objective for the internship. Although my long-term career goal is community –focused, I want a solid clinical background because I believe that the knowledge and experience of clinical dietetics will make me a better community dietitian. I believe that the Minneapolis VA internship is one of the best places for obtaining that experience.
Although I enjoy interacting with and helping people, I am an independent person who doesn’t like confronting conflict especially when it means negotiating with others. Although I have the managerial skills of organization and efficiency, I need to improve my skills in human resource management and conflict resolution and am confident that I will have the opportunity to do so as an intern at your program. Some other unique and valuable skills that I would bring to your program include flexibility and patience, which I gained in Mexico where life moves at a slower and less organized pace than in the United States, an appreciation for diverse people and perspectives, a strong work ethic and the ability to solve problems creatively.
My career goals are evidence of my personal interests in languages, particularly Spanish, international travel and cooking. I also enjoy outdoor recreation such as hiking, running and cross-country skiing and consider myself a musician as I play the piano, oboe and guitar and enjoy singing.
As an intern I will do my best to use my skills to benefit your program and the people who you serve. Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Meg Dill
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