Week 2...CHECK!

So, week two of the first set of foodservice rotations is all done. Three days this week I was up at 4am to be at the hospital by 5:30am. That SUCKED. Not only was I up super early, but by the time I was finished, I was too exhausted to work out, do homework, or anything. The thing is, is that I wouldn't have a problem working this shift as a professional, as long as it was a consistent shift. 

But, we are getting a lot done on our projects. This upcoming Friday is the big day, the "Wrap Up" day. Monday and Tuesday will consist of presenting knife and safety and sanitation to kitchen employees. Then, the rest of the time will be dedicated to writing formal and informal reports, preparing our recipe for the taste testing/judging for Thursday, and trying to scramble to get everything done. THEN...it's back to CMU for Homecoming!! Finally get to see my sorority sisters, friends, and of course, Jordan. <3

Also, some people have asked why I don't post lots of recipes and stuff like that on my blog. Well, mainly because my blog is to document my internship experience. I do like cooking and making meals, but, reading through recipes isn't my favorite past-time. How can I be in dietetics and not like looking at recipes all the time?! Because...a) I like to invent my own foods and combinations, and b) a lot of the time, the recipe calls for things I don't have in my kitchen! Which is frustrating.

Finally the weekend, time to relax and hang out at grandmas. I'm going to try and explore the area I'm living in. I want to go to the mall, but I feel like I'd just be teasing myself. I know I don't need anything, and can't really afford to shop anyway.

Rawr.

SO EARLY.

5:30am is a rough time to start a shift. Especially when you have to add an hour commute to that. Oh, and how could I forget? I'm not getting paid to do any of this!

But, today we worked in production within the B2 kitchen. We did things like portion audits and forecasting. They're having a problem with inconsistencies of the scoops using to portion out items. Things aren't being as uniform as they should, especially when patients need a specific amount of food. Why might this be? If they're diabetic, on calorie counts, or on restrictive diets. We also worked on our recipe with Chef Steve. Who is very Italian, but fun to work with. We're making a BBQ Chicken Salad with an Herb BBQ Ranch Dressing. Tomorrow we get to work the huge majority of the day with him on our recipe. I'll definitely post a picture when it's finished. 

Then, a week from tomorrow we will have the taste test. The best salad out of the other two intern groups, Chef Steve, and our group will win itself a place on the menu! Which may not be exciting to some, but it is for me. Today I finally completed the patient surveys and yesterday I finally got done the tray-tracking worksheet. It's just so many projects to keep track of and it's not only confusing but definitely hard not to catch myself getting them mixed up. It might have to do with the fact that I've been up for 13 hours already today...

But it is nice to be home early. But, that means more time being alone. Grandma always seems to be outside working on the yard or downstairs. A lot of alone time - could be good or bad. Ideally I'd love to go home every weekend but a) it's so expensive, b) I have 8 projects due in 1.5 weeks, and 3) I never seem to get anything done when I'm home. After living in the dorms for three years and then a sorority house for the last year, it's tough being completely alone for a huge part of your day. I do get a lot done, but sometimes I wonder...

But, next weekend I'll be going to Mt. Pleasant for Homecoming. And I'll be leaving the afternoon on the 15th. October 15th ring a bell? It's when all of my projects will be due! No projects for a whole weekend! What will I do!? And, the following week, our whole day is going to be dedicated to going to a food show. It will definitely be a good time, think of it this way:

Love going to Sam's Club, Meijer, Wal-Mart, or wherever and they have a product sample at the end of the isle? A food show is like a HUGE building dedicated to product samples. It's going to be better than Halloween. Any "foody's" paradise. Snacks, frozen dinners, juice drinks, alcoholic beverages...I'll definitely report on what I end up with.

Other than that, while some days are much harder than others...I'm just tryin' to live the dream...

268 days..

More, more, and some more...

Job shadowing. I feel that's all we've done lately. But I have learned a lot. On Friday, another intern and I job shadowed one of the managers in the Maternal and Child Health Center (MCHC) Room Service from 12:30pm-9pm. That was a long night. I ended up driving back up to CMU that night, hence the not posting all weekend. It was fun, but definitely didn't prepare me for today.

In which I had to wake up at 4am, in order to be at the hospital in Ann Arbor by 5:30am for the 5:30am-2pm shift. Definitely rough. Especially with the commute. This random sleep schedule and lack of sleep in general is making me sick. Runny nose, headache, being flushed. Great. Definitely sleeping in tomorrow because I have a project day; a day where nothing else is planned except the fact I have to be at the hospital, wherever I want, working on whatever project I want to work on. I can make my own hours. Yes...

Overall, the MCHC rotations went well. Another intern and I did tray accuracy audits, portion audits, recipe audits, meal satisfaction surveys, patient surveys, time sheets, planning sheets, and a bunch of random information. It was fun and it was good to see the different managerial styles of the two managers we shadowed. After my project day tomorrow, I'll have to do the 5:30am-2pm shift in the production area on Wednesday and Thursday. I just need to get on a usual schedule or my body is going to royally hate me.

The good news is that the University of Michigan Dietetic Internship open house is this month. Basically prospective 2011 interns can come and get a tour, find out more about the program, talk to current interns (like me!), and put a face-to-the-name for Joyce, the internship director. If you're interested in attending, it's on October 30, and you have to RSVP by October 15 to (click on link):

University of Michigan Dietetic Internship Program Open House

270 days...

!!!

1:15pm....epiphany...

I LOVE LEARNING.

Now I know for a fact this sounds crazy. Don't get me wrong, I had an amazing time receiving a priceless education at CMU. I had top-of-the-line professors, amazing classes, grueling case studies and research which all helped me wind up where I am today, at such a great internship.

But, while sitting in a foodservice hands-on session doing inventory, ordering, and procurement, I had this epiphany. In undergrad - all of high school, middle school, and elementary for that matter - I've been judged and graded on every single project and assignment I've ever had. Now that I'm in this internship? No grades, no judging. Just evaluating. HUGE difference. I'm being evaluated on my performance and my attitude towards the profession. And it's not just an evaluation, it's constructive feedback. Such as undergrad, I might receive a grade on a paper and the only feedback I receive might be highlighted areas where I made mistakes or failed to mention something...

And again, I'm no baby. I can take harsh criticism very well and learn from it. But, the feeling I get from preceptors, faculty, staff, and even the foodservice workers make me love learning. It makes me that more excited to go in the next day, even if it is at 5:30am. 

And it's not just those who are above us. It's the people I'm around all day: other interns. In undergrad, it's almost as if I had to compete with my classmates for the best grades and to be the best candidate for an amazing reference letter from a professor or supervisor. I had to be to class the earliest and stay the latest to make sure I obtained everything I could. I had to be involved in this, that, and everything. 

Here? All the other interns and I are on the same level. We've all worked just as hard as the other to be where we are. The only thing we have to get used to each other? Knowing we can trust each other. In undergrad in group projects, you know there would always be a leader, some good workers, and some slackers. As a natural leader, I'd always end up taking on more than I could handle, seeing as how many times if I didn't, none of the work would get done. It's tough, but nice and reassuring to know that when we do a project as a group, we're all leaders; when we are assigned something, it will get done by that person. 





Well, that was fun...

Today was another day in purchasing and procurement. We did a quick daily inventory, which would normally take our preceptor about an hour to do the entire food service program, but it took two other interns and I about 2 hours to do about 3 stock rooms. Ha! Basically it all boils down to knowing your organization. I'm sure that with more practice, other interns and I would be able to whip through inventory like its our job. Our preceptor taught us many things today, some of which include...

• Knowing your organization and inventory 
• Knowing what items are popular and move off shelves quickly, and vice versa
• Being aware of production schedules and holidays
• Seeking out competitive prices and bargaining with suppliers

This lady's been at her job for more than 30 years. She's a pro. After finishing inventory, we then went into CBORD and entered her order in and then loaded it into the supplier's website. From there, items are double checked and flagged if they seem like odd amounts (40 cases of celery). The program asks you like 1,304,239 times if you're sure you want to submit the order (duh, it's about a $20,000 bill), and that's it! But, it has many more steps than it seems, I'm just cutting it down for time, and for my Grandma's boredom tolerance (I know you're reading this Grandma Z)!! :)


Overall a great day though, just exhausted, as usual...

Officially a CBORDian

...among many others...
 PFANS = Patient Food and Nutrition Services

UMHS = University of Michigan Health System

UMHHC = University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers

DI = Dietetic Internship

UH = University Hospital

CVC = Cardiovascular Center

MCHC = Maternal and Child Health Center

MPB = Medical Professionals Building

HETM = Healthy Eating Tip of the Month

NSS = Nutrition Services Suite

FMS = Food Management System

CBORD = ????

Needless to say...there are lots of acronyms. Today, a group of interns and I worked with CBORD - a food management system program which it's acronym-type name stands for nothing. CBORD is where the PFANS staff set up food items, recipes, menus, etc.

Definitely more complicated than it seems.

• Every food item is linked to something
• An item must be logged and given proper names and numbers, within character limits
• Items need a unit of measure for ordering and production 
• Inventory done every day and logged, items and recipes forecasted
• Items must be logged with how much they costs and which supplier to come from
• There may be one item, but it may come in...
• 7 different varieties
• 6 different diet variations
• 20 different portion sizes
• (7 x 6 x 20 =  840 different ways to prepare one item)
• There are prep cost yields and nutrient yields to consider
• Items must be linked to specific menus 
• Nutrient information must be linked into items so they will appear in linked recipes
• Recipe ingredients must be done in pounds (1/2 teaspoon baking soda = 0.008 lb...literally)

Lastly, CBORD then prints a bunch of reports which break down the recipes for where they will be prepared, when, and who will prepare them. Reports to also do inventory, track waste, and so on...so on...so on...


Did I mention that for every food item and recipe - every single one - staff must go in and determine if it is compliant with all 110 different diets?!

 I learned a lot today. 

But, the preceptors for this session were amazing and so much fun, which made the experience that much easier. And, we got out early! But that means into bed early, as I must report to the hospital at 6:30am tomorrow. That means I should leave the house by about 5:30-5:45am, which means I should wake up at about 4:45am. 


Yay!


275 days...

And so it finally begins...

So, the rotations have officially started and it is SO nice that they have. Today our task was to do inventory, which might seem simple but it's definitely not. I worked with one of the purchasing managers and she took me through her daily and monthly routine of doing inventory. U of M has thousands of products and produce that they have, not to mention nourishments and formulas.

The manager I was with was awesome. She first let me do the looking around in inventory, counting the cases or individual boxes or flats of product, then I would tell her. Seem easy? It's not. First, everything in storage comes in similar looking boxes, especially the formulas. With those, there might be one slight number variation and it was my job to find it on the cardboard box. Then, boxes aren't always where they're supposed to be. I may have thought I counted them all, but 10 minutes later, I would find a box out of place and then have to go back and add it. To make it better, a shipment came in while we were doing inventory so we had to go back and add all of those to our list.

After I was on that end, my manager let me be the one to write. That was also neat to see because again, it's unbelievable how closely related some of the products were. One product might read "For Enfamil Lipil 1.5 RTU" and another might read "For Enfamil Lipil Unfl RTU." And, of course, those products would be right next to each other in the storeroom and on the inventory checklist.

In other good news, I finished one of my projects today. Quite an easy project, actually. Each of us are to be assigned to a camera for 2 days during our rotation. Our task is to take 2 pictures for each of the following categories: Teamwork, Automation, Service, Quality, Communication, and Empowerment. Definitely harder than it sounds, but an easy project nonetheless and fun to do. We then turn the cameras in and they will have a contest during our wrap up session and people will be awarded prizes. I volunteered to be one of the first people with the camera so I could get this project out of the way and have one less thing to worry about. I'm really excited to see what people come up with! 


And, last but not least, of course, I'm started to get a head cold. There has been weird shifts in weather lately in Michigan, which always seems to mess with my health. A few days ago it was sunny and 80 and then today it shifts to 55, windy and rainy. It just seems to give me super bad headaches and make me feel like crud. But, luckily we got out early today and I was able to take a nap.

Short day, but felt very long. Basically we had an orientation that reviewed the 7 projects we're going to have due in three weeks! Which include....

1. Customer Satisfaction Survey and Statistics
2. Tray Delivery and Pick Up Time Statistics
3. Cleaning/Sanitation In-Service Program
4. Knife Handling In-Service Program
5. Personal Journal Reflection Paper
6. Camera Project
7. Recipe Development and Taste Test
8. Healthy Eating Tip of the Month (just for me!)

So, lots to do! Not a lot of time to get them done. But, that's why we're a team and we're going to tackle them head on. Then, on CMU's Homecoming on October 16th, the day after everything is due...I might be able to relax. We'll see...

277 days...