Statement of Purpose- Dietetic Internship - Essay Example

Several years ago, I came to the decision that I wanted to become a dietetics major. This seemed to be the logical conclusion for me as a career pathbecause I always cared about the food that my family and I ate. As far back as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by food and its components. I needed to learn about the way the food was developed and how it managed to share such life sustaining attributes with those who ate it. More importantly, I wanted to find out the reasons behind the critical effects that food had on peoples daily lives. Why was it possible for a well balanced diet to keep a person free from blood sugar and blood pressure problems? How does gelatin negatively affect people with Celiac Disease? Why is it that eating the proper foods can keep us healthy all our lives and eating the “wrong” kinds of food can shorten our life span? As I went upon my quest in search of the answers to my questions, I came to the realization that in order to uncover the answers that I sought, I needed to become a licensed and qualified Dietitian. It was the quest for those answers that led me to complete my Bachelors and Masters program in Nutrition from notable universities in Saudi Arabia. However, completing those complex studies left me feeling unfulfilled because I lacked the one qualification that I hoped to achieve at the end of my academic career, that of becoming a “registered dietitian” under a “Registered Dietitian Program”. This frustration led me to complete a PhD. in Nutritional Epidemiology instead, coupled with a RD License. This was the only way that I would be able to create dietary programs under a Saudi based RD program. The successful completion of my BS and MS degrees allowed me an opportunity to work in the King Abdulaziz University Hospital, one of the most renowned hospitals in Saudi Arabia. It was during my time working there that I honed my dietetic skills by working with inpatients, outpatients, and the pediatric department. Even though I was already working, I did not neglect my skills development. I continued my higher education studies by enrolling in a Diabetic Educator Course that allowed me to teach students how to calculate patients dietary requirements. I worked as a clinical dietician for 11 months before I got a scholarship from the Saudi government that allowed me to pursue a PhD. in Nutrition. I consider this opportunity as the force of change in my life. The scholarship allowed me to pursue my education in the United States where I was immediately admitted into the University of Utah PhD. program. I have done all that I can in the pursuit of fulfilling all of my academic requirements over the past 2 years so that I can begin my participation in the DPD program of the university during the last year of my PhD. I am currently working towards the completion of my PhD dissertation on the topic of “The Role of Obesity, Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and Gene-Environment Interaction Cleft and Palate Birth Defects” while also completing the last course requirements that are pre-requisites for the DPD program. My short term goals include the completion of the Dietetic Internship Program and becoming a Registered Dietitian in the field of child nutrition and administrative dietetics after I complete the required licensing exams in those specific areas. It is of the utmost importance to me that I gain better dietetic knowledge while enjoying the opportunity to communicate with my patients as part of my dietetic practice. The internship and RD license will allow me to have the best opportunity to practice all of the theoretical and practical knowledge that I have gained over the past years in dietetics. As for my long term goals, I fully intend to continue practicing dietetics in Saudi Arabia with specific population groups and pediatric cases, most specifically, school age children nutrition needs. Saudi lacks a clear pediatric and school age nutrition guidelines and classroom based nutrition education that can help rear much healthier children in the future. Nutrition education on a community level is sorely lacking and needed in Saudi Arabia. I hope to be able to positively influence my cause by going back to teach at the Kind Abdulaziz University. By educating the undergraduate and graduate students of the university, I will be able to help enhance awareness of the nutritional needs of the general community. I intend to do this by correcting the misinformation that the students have about clinical nutrition on a broader aspect. Dieticians should not be limited to only hospitals, but also general areas of food service preparations. When I began with the DPD program, I encountered scheduling conflicts with my dissertation, making it more difficult for me to fulfill my plan of accomplishing both simultaneously. However, just like everything in life, I managed to overcome this obstacle using careful time management and schedule planning. My careful time management plan effectively worked for me as my GPA resulted in a 3.92 average and the satisfactory work that I have done towards the completion of my dissertation. Although I am a perfectionist at heart, I have come to realize that nothing is perfect in life. What is important is that I always do my best within the parameters set before me. I feel that this sense of perfection coupled with my grasp of the reality of the situation will help me become an excellent DI in the future. It will help me in changing the perception of nutrition in Saudi Arabia when the time comes. Read More