Rachel Stock
Nutrition Trainee
Rachel earned her undergraduate degree in Nutrition with an Emphasis in Dietetics at the University of Arizona. She is a UA graduate with a Professional Science Master's degree in Applied Nutrition and hopes to complete a dietetic internship. Her career goal is to one day become a neonatal dietitian. In her free time she enjoys yoga, hiking, and being with her son and family.
Testimonial
I initially had no idea that there was a traineeship opportunity related to the pediatric field, which is where I was wanting to gain experience as I am most interested in pediatric dietetics. I learned of the PPC nutrition traineeship program through Kayle while discussing opportunities for me to enhance my clinical experience for the dietetic internship applications. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get involved in an area of nutrition that I did not have much experience in, especially with it being in such a specific patient population.
The COVID-19 pandemic made it to where certain regulations had to be in place in order to take on trainees. Attending clinics virtually was difficult at first, however it really became normal as the year progressed. I think that the traineeship program did a great job in allowing students to continue working with them while still adhering to strict guidelines that protected its high-risk clients. As clinics progressed, I was able to interact more with clients, and got great experience writing multiple notes for patients in each clinic. Cystic fibrosis clinics were probably my favorite part of the traineeship not just due to the clinical experience that it gave me, but also being immersed in the nutritional, physical, and mental aspects of a patient population that I was unfamiliar with enabled me to become more involved and more educated on the specific needs of these patients. Having this insight, especially during something as hard as a pandemic, was eye opening for me.
The many different conferences related to this traineeship allowed for interaction and connection with other MCH programs; I was able to get outside my comfort zone and present our groups Family Collaborative assignment for the second half of the conference, as well as present my Capstone project at the MLC conference earlier this month. I enjoyed having the case study part of the traineeship being part of a group of girls that came from different areas of healthcare than myself, which allowed each of us to understand better the many qualities that each person brings in providing patients with the best quality of care. A great take away from this traineeship is just the overall need for more connectivity between the interdisciplinary team. Great patient outcomes start with a team of healthcare workers that work well together, who learn and grow from listening to different points of view, and who above all put the needs of the patient above the needs of themselves. I think this program has been great for me in getting many different perspectives on patient and family dynamics that could be affecting patient outcomes.
I am hoping that the pediatric-specific nutritional reference guide I created for incoming nutrition trainees proves beneficial to the traineeship program as a whole. I enjoyed creating a material that would survive past my time with the program and make the clinical experience of future trainees a little bit better. Pediatrics is not a huge nutritional topic that is covered in undergraduate studies, and this traineeship really gave me more education and experience in a field of nutrition that I am most interested in making a career from.
My time with the PPC has only increased my desire to work in pediatrics and given me the motivation needed to continue my studies. I am interested too in volunteering in more mother and infant areas of the Tucson community, as well as spreading awareness to others the importance of nutrition in this patient population. I have really enjoyed my time with the PPC and would love to remain connected in the future.