I Prefer to Dive-in Head First

Life experience has taught me that I learn best by doing.

Certainly, I still get good grades while in a classroom setting (or I wouldn't currently be a dietetic intern), but for me, the true educational experience lies in doing. I love starting a new job and being "thrown in head first" so-to-speak, where it is necessary for me to quickly get my footing, relying on me, my background knowledge, and my resourcefulness in order to succeed. For instance, when I started my first cooking job out of culinary college, my first day was spent preparing for the grand opening party that was a huge undertaking, to say the least. I was giving a list of what foods I had to prepare by a certain time and then was left to my own devices. I quickly learned where utensils, the walk-in refrigerators, dry storage, knives, cutting boards, etc. were located. Instead of panicking, I embraced the challenge and let my adrenaline, knowledge, and confidence in my skills carry me to successfully completing that list with enough time to help a fellow cook with his tasks. At the end of the shift I was pulled aside by my Sous Chef who complemented me on my ability to swim, and then he walked away. That was all he said. Puzzled, I thought about his comment for a few days, but then it finally occurred to me what he meant by that statement: he was referring to the phrase "sink or swim", and how I was thrown into the deep-end head first, but managed to not only keep my head above water, but was able to swim to shore.

I am inspired to learn when I encounter experiences, tasks, or themes that are new to me, but complement my knowledge-base. I get excited when I can apply a learning experience to my own life (allowing me to apply the principles of adult education to myself). My desire to learn by doing is directly applicable to my dietetic internship. Finally I am able to apply the knowledge that I have built through years of university to a real-world setting. Speak with real patients, interact with other health professionals, and interact with, learn from, and benefit from the experiences of Dietitians (which I have been aching for since my first year at Acadia). I very much believe in the tutelage style of: "see one, do one, teach one", which I actually believe I have taken from an episode Grey's Anatomy. But it is fully applicable to my internship, and my preferred learning style. First, observe to understand the steps. Second, actually do the steps. Third, teach how to do it - even if it's simply explaining to my supervising Dietitian what I did, as I fully believe that teaching allows for a higher level of understanding and comprehension. With that said, I also believe an important part of the learning process is the very unpopular topic of...

Feedback.

Feedback is something that I have trained myself to appreciate and use constructively. Through my career as a student, I have had positive, negative, constructive, and useless (when the feedback consists of vague, unspecific phrases which doesn't reveal how to change or even if it's necessary to change). I have learned to accept all types, and turn them into learning experiences - though the useless feedback still frustrates me, I know seek out my reviewer to clarify the comment, which has to this day, resulted in useless feedback being converted to constructive. For example, the feedback I received from the presentation I gave to the nursing students on Nutrition for Childbearing was incredible! My usage of the word "incredible" is meaning that it was filled with ways in which I could have changed certain aspects of my presentation so I could better influence and teach my audience; filled with constructive comments allowing me to benefit from the experiences and knowledge of the Public Health Nutritionists. I look forward to my mid-point evaluation set for next week to hear more of their suggestions.   

So how is my preferred method of learning applicable to my internship?

It is completely applicable in that I am given daily opportunities to expend my knowledge base through creating presentations, chatting with co-workers about their job roles and various committees they are on, attending meetings and taking the minutes, and so many more opportunities. Additionally, as a dietetic intern, it is expected that I will produce a high quality of work and I find that this expectation makes me strive to learn more and to challenge myself to a greater degree in order to meet or exceed these (and my) expectations.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough we must do. - Goethe

This blog entry is a required component of my Internship Reflections as outlined by Acadia University. Part 2 of 2.