Whitney Hussain, RD

The past week was QUITE the challenging one. I have been pretty keen since I started working as an RD(t) at the end of June this year, making sure my Manager is aware of areas of practice I’m interested in and seeking more challenging relief/workload areas to cover. During my interview, I let my manager know that I LOVE working in Surgery – the high stress, acute, challenging patients that are admitted in that ward make the day go by SUPER fast since the work is extremely interesting – and I discovered I enjoyed that area after my internship coordinator pushed me to complete my relief rotation of internship there! After working alongside the current Surgical RD a ton and seeking more experience in Surg, I was given a relief coverage placement the past week covering the current Surg RD as she’s away from the vacation – I’m still shocked at the fact I was given it since I am quite new to the RD working world. I was SO stressed the past couple weeks hoping I was successful and didn’t fall flat on my face.

Although I was EXHAUSTED as Friday rolled around, I absolutely LOVED the past week in Surg. There’s a weird adrenaline rush I get in the morning when I enter the office knowing that my day will be busy and full of complex patients. The interdisciplinary team is SO supportive and I feel as though I’m an integral part of their team (sometimes that’s a trait that’s lacking in a couple of the other wards) – plus they made me feel so welcome and supported the whole week. I asked lots of questions to other RDs when I wasn’t sure about my work, got to interact with some amazing patients who were so thankful for the services I provided, and walked away each day looking forward to the next.

Finding the niches you’re interested in can be a huge challenge as a new professional and university grad. Although I think I’ve found the area of practice I love, I’m also part of a generation of individuals who tend to change their mind when they find something that fuels the adrenaline even further. That being said, I hope I have more opportunities to work in Surgery since I enjoyed every minute of that relief week! My last day covering it is tomorrow – I hope the weekend didn’t bring too much mass chaos from a nutrition side of care!