Course Reflection- Nutrition 201

December 14, 2011

This course left me with a better understanding of the fundamentals of nutrition. I really enjoyed the variety of material we covered in this class and now have a better grasp on the basics of nutrition. What I took most from this course was how large the study of nutrition is. I felt that this course was just the tip of the iceberg to the study of nutrition. I am looking forward to taking more nutrition courses in order to expand my knowledge, and go more in depth on the topics we covered. If I could change one thing about this course, I wish that is was offered in three separate class meetings, as supposed to once a week in a four hour session. I think it would have been more beneficial to learning to have the material spread out because at times it was overwhelming the amount of knowledge presented to the students. After taking this class, I am excited to pursue an academic career in the study of foods and nutrition. Additionally, I am looking forward to smaller, more personalized class sessions in which I can interact with teachers. Furthermore, this was a great introductory course and sparked my interest in the subject matter. The piece of information that will always stick to me from this course was the coverage on nutritional claims. I am now a much more informed consumer when it comes to locating and evaluating nutritional claims. Dr. Kern was very funny and made the scientific portions of the subject matter much more interesting! He had an awesome dynamic with the class and was constantly regaining students attention with his personality and interaction with students. In conclusion, this course opened my eyes to the vast amount of information that is out there on nutrition and how to spot nutritional claims.

December 12, 2011 Course Reflection Nutrition 203 This class opened my eyes to the vast cultural differences present in the nutritional habits of people all over the world. What I took most from this class was the ability to communicate with people of another culture and in what ways to show them respect when in the future discussing nutritional. The portion of class spent on discussing what are considered proper manners to some cultures really left an impact and I can see myself using this knowledge not only in my career but in everyday life. What I enjoyed most about this class was the straightforwardness. I liked that there was no extra information in the slides that was irrelevant to test material. Also I really thought it was great that every week I was constantly picking up new knowledge about food, culture and communication skills. I really enjoyed learning about cultures outside of the United States; especially European dietary habits and Asian communication skills. I also really took a lot from the tasting experiences because after learning about various foods in class, it was wonderful to see a wide array of food from different cultures. This tasting opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of people may not like or even understand the food choices other cultures make and it is very important to keep an open mind when trying new foods as well as discussing foods you perhaps may not enjoy with someone who commonly eats them. Because I think I already had a lot of knowledge about various cultures cuisines, this class came both naturally and intriguing to me. I learned about many new foods that cultures commonly eat as well as the meanings behinds these foods. I can imagine for someone with little prior knowledge of ethic cuisines this class would be challenging, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Course Reflection Nutrition 205

May 11, 2012

This class left me with the ability to grasp a greater understanding of the components of food as well as the preparation of a variety of food products. One major thing I took from this class was the ability to use standard equivalents, scale recipes as well as many other concepts as practiced through the math text. I really thought the addition of the math units to this course helped to the real world application of the course. What I enjoyed most about this course was that every class I could expect to gain something I had never known about food before. Whether this be the chemical reactions taking place in food when its cooked or how to store food safely, I looked forward to an interesting class each day. I really thought all of the material we learned was very applicable, and unlike many classes I have taken in the past, I will remember the preparation techniques as well as the reasons behind the techniques when I have finished my degree. I also really enjoyed the healthy recipe modification. I thought that non one would enjoy my healthy recipe, but it was such a pleasant surprise to find that people loved what I brought in to class. I also really enjoyed tasting other students recipes and loved that I got to leave that class with healthy recipes in my hand. Because I already had a good amount of knowledge about food and the preparation of food, it was only natural that the class came naturally intriguing to me. Even though I came with a background on all things food, this class taught me more about applying the chemistry I have learned to the food I eat.

Course Reflection- Nutrition 301

May 13, 2013

This class reinforced what was taught in Nutrition 302. Topics and the details covered on Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids, and Water and the mechanisms in which they work in the body were all repeat information from previous courses. Eighty-percent of what was covered in these lectures was previously touched on in other courses, and 20% was new information. It is conflicting if this reinforced imperative information, or in fact took away from time that could have been spent on other topics that have not been taught or plan to be taught to students. I think it is amazingly useful that Professor Copp provided handouts, pamphlets, and information she found to be user friendly on Blackboard for students to print out. These documents can be used to give to future clients on a number of different popular health concerns. All of the documents provided are easy to understand, and leave the reader feeling an increased sense of expertise on the topic. It would have been more beneficial for the students if that the teacher was able to cover more topics in the class, and has a set schedule in order to assure that all of the topics were covered. But on a positive note, the access to documents on these untouched lectures are available online in archived documents. I really enjoyed the guest lecturer that came to talk about non-clinical job opportunities. This mandatory class left students with an understanding that there are many job opportunities awaiting those who do not want to go into the clinical setting. This lecturer, along with an opportunity to meet and hear from RDs in the San Diego area, was a great way for students to learn outside of the typical classroom setting, which left more of an impact than any lecture on the topic.

December 11, 2012 Course Reflection - Nutrition 302/302L This course summarized, and then went into greater depth of subject matter that was previously covered in the prerequisite nutrition classes. What I enjoyed most from both of these classes was the crossover that occurred between not only 302 and 302L, but also with other nutrition courses. It reinforced the key information, and being tested in multiple classes on similar material drove major points home; these topics and fact will never be lost in my memory! This class served as a capstone to the previous nutrition prerequisites, and it became evident the importance of completing chemistry, biology, and physiology courses. Nutrition 302L has been my favorite course in the Foods/Nutrition program at San Diego State University. I mostly enjoyed the practice of using lab equipment to determine biological values. Each class served as a hand-on leaning opportunity with an extremely knowledgeable professor. Additionally, I found it unique that students were able to test their own blood samples for biochemical levels during the given experiment. This not only opened my eyes to how and what was going on in my body, but also gave me more confidence in the laboratory. Furthermore, following each case study we wrote NCP notes that gave me increased expertise in documentation nutrition care. In the beginning the notes seemed extremely lengthy, and overwhelming to complete; but by the end of the course I am self-assured in my abilities to complete a complete NCP note. The experience of working in a laboratory was irreplaceable, and I value this experience during my education at San Diego State University.

Course Reflection -Nutrition 303

December 5, 2012

This course offered students a different perspective of the study of nutrition, as compared to other courses offered in the nutrition program. I expected this class to be about how food was produced in large quantities in manufacturing facilities, and the standards that these foods must meet before being given to consumers. Instead, this course covered systems classification, menu planning and pricing, food safety standards, procurement management and production and distribution processes. Before taking this course I had no idea how complex the model for running a food organization is, and that if specific criteria are not met, a food organization will most likely not succeed. To me, this course was more designed for hotel management, who have no nutrition background at all, or business students looking to open up a small business providing food services to customers. This being said, I thought it was interesting that this course is required in a nutrition degree because it was more of a managerial course than nutrition related. I did however think that it was interesting information presented in the course regarding how much structure and planning is needed in order to open and run a food service organization. In this course we discussed models of food production, and focused mostly on how to run a food service organization. Some of the things we studied in this class were repetitive from classes such as Biology 211 (microbiology) and Nutrition 205. I enjoyed a different perspective of nutrition that I received in this course, and I thought it was great that we had a group project that encompassed all we learned, in to creating food organization. I also thought it was unique that we received our food handlers card in this course.

Nutrition 304 Reflection Statement This course opened my eyes to the different needs during different phases of the life cycle. Nutrition through the Lifespan covered nutritional needs from neonatal to elderly needs. What I enjoyed most about this course what that the information provided was all applicable to my own life. It was interesting to learn the needs of infants, children, teenagers, pregnant women, and post menopausal women, just to name a few. My favorite group to learn about was the infants/toddlers because theirs needs are continually changing from month to month. When I have children one day, I will be able to apply the

May 15, 2013

knowledge I gained from this course in order to better feed my own children. Additionally, I have a greater understanding of pediatric needs and at what stages of the life to introduce certain food groups. In this course we not only studied the various nutrient needs during the lifecycle, but also were assigned a group project in which we created a fictional character from a specific life stage and created a meal plan for them. I enjoyed this project because my group and I focused on an older, vegetarian pregnant women. The patient we created was unique in the sense that in other courses we focus on one characteristic and create a meal plan, and this project simulated a more realistic patient. My favorite part of creating the meal plan was offer ideas of breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner. Furthermore, using my creativity to create a menu that falls within a given calorie range was a fun, yet challenging activity for me. In conclusion, this class not only built my library of knowledge on nutritional needs for patients, but also honed in to my creative side when completing the group assignment.

Nutrition 404 Reflection Statement

December 11, 2013

This course, Food Service Management, proved to be one of the more challenging courses I have taken at San Diego State University. I found the lectures in this course to be a bit bland, and often was left feeling very confused and overwhelmed because of the nature in which the material was taught. As someone who has a mild background in business management, I felt engulfed by the plethora of knowledge that was packed in to each three hour class session. I think this class would benefit from being offered two days a week, instead of just one. Furthermore, the addition of more interactive lecture materials may increase the receptiveness of the students. On the other hand, what I enjoyed most of this class was completing a business plan. At first, I thought this would be a difficult task because of the experience I had in the Quantity Food Production. But, to my surprise, I really excelled and enjoyed creating a food product, researching the market share, proposing a business plan, and creating the financial statements for the designed business. I think one reason I enjoyed this project more was because I worked with one student as supposed to four students, and it was much easier with less hands on the project. I am looking forward to my food service rotation during my internship in order to gain experience and see what food serve management entails. I imagine working in the field, in a school, hospital, or prison, to be a much different experience than learning about the logistics of running a business.

Nutrition 405 Reflection Statement

December 17, 2013

In this course, Food Technology Lab, students created a product and did sensory and physical analysis on the designed product. During my career as an undergraduate student, I remember students from this course coming to my classes for students to sample their food product against a competitors product. It was really exciting to make a food product with my team, and what I most enjoyed was creating the food product itself. My group and I made an avocado based ice cream with coconut and pomegranate seeds, and compared it to a solely coconut based ice cream frozen dessert. I gained an immense amount of insight in to the science behind creating a new food product and all of the standards that need to be met in order to label a food product. I also enjoyed further expanding my experience in the laboratory setting. Furthermore, my favorite courses at San Diego State have been laboratory based classes because I enjoy being hands on and learning new things in a technical manner. One thing I would change about my experience in this class would have been taking the course with Kelly Lane, as supposed to having a graduate student as my teacher. Even though she was competent, and more than helpful, I had never had Professor Lane and have been told my personality reminds students of her. Furthermore, I would have loved the opportunity to have her as the professor and get to work with her on creating my food product. In conclusion, I enjoyed the Food Technology Lab because of the hand-on nature of the course and because of the creativity utilized during each class session in which we preformed and analyzed tests, and created an unique food product.

Nutrition 406/408 Reflection Statement

December 17, 2013

This course, focused on Medical Nutrition Therapy, came naturally to me and reinforced my desire and interest in becoming a Registered Dietitian. Going in to this course I had a preconceived notion of how challenging it would be due to other students experiences in the course. After receiving the highest grade in MNT I, I feel confident in my ability to apply what I have learned in MNT I to MNT II, and ultimately to my internship. It was not only hard work, but also my interest in the subject matter that made me feel excited to learn about the topics covered in the course. I am looking forward to applying what I learned in medical nutrition therapy to hands-on application of the subject matter. It excites me to enter an internship after excelling in a course that is the foundation of nutrition in healthcare. Now in the midst of MNT II, I am still interested in the subject matter; but feel the information is presented in a different manner. I really preferred Yumis teaching style in MNT I, it resonated with my learning style and constantly kept me engaged. The presentations in MNT are formatted differently and do not resonate as well with me; but nevertheless I really enjoy the course and Yumis teaching style. It helps my learning that at the beginning of every class the professor recaps not only the material covered last class session, but also the entire subject matter for the pertaining chapter. This drills in key points, and ultimately makes the exams much easier because everything is repeated at least five times during class.

December 5, 2013 Nutrition 407 - Reflection Statement In MNT Lab I, I gained practice in identifying the major elements of nutritionally assessing various disease states, identifying nutritional risk factors and classifying nutritional status for selected diseases. This class also built upon previous practice writing ADIME notes and describing the Nutrition Care Process. MNT Lab I further developed my ability to determine an appropriate nutritional care plan for specific nutrition conditions. This lab was the first class that specifically focused on the clinical aspect of nutrition and specifically focused on medical practices. The final assignment for this class put in to perspective how challenging it can to work with patients who are on restrictive budgets and adhering to definitive nutritional guidelines. Menu planning and meal plans are a vital part of how a patient responds outside of the clinical setting to a new nutrition regimen. I also thought the guest speaker, who spoke about EN and PN formulas was very informative. I am always intrigued by real life applications of nutrition and hearing from people who work in the field. It was extremely helpful to the MNT I course to have the supplemental lab section because all of what was covered in MNT I lab, also was covered in MNT I further reinforcing critical nutrition therapy topics. Brendas ability to make every question you ask a golden moment for a learning opportunity and her encouragement through problem solving; sets her apart from any other professor I have had. Brendas teaching style, real life experience in the clinical setting and immense knowledge of the subject matter make her the ideal person to teach this course and her jovial nature makes students eager to learn and take in her knowledge.

Nutrition 409 Reflection Statement

April, 20, 2014

What I enjoy about this class, the second part of Medical Nutrition Lab, was the variety of field trips we attended. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Registered Dietitians, many of which graduated from San Diego State University, in their careers. The variety of field trips we attended opened my eyes not only to what careers I can see myself in, but more importantly, where I cannot see myself fitting in. I think finding out what environments and career paths were not for me was more eye opening because I can focus on where I do thrive. My least favorite positions were ones in which Registered Dietitians worked in a business park or with patients who were children or critically ill. Furthermore, I can see not what paths in dietetics I do not want to pursue. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the trip to the Weight Management Center and the environment the Registered Dietitians worked in as well as the employee satisfaction in that work place. I also felt motivated to seek a career in which my colleagues realize the impact dietitians have on patients and who are respected in this positions. Additionally, I like the idea of working with patients who are all very different and have different needs and expectations from me as their registered dietitian. One thing I would change about this class is that instead of meeting three times on campus to go over case studies, I would have liked to attend three more field trips. It felt like we have covered the diagnostic and medical portion of NCP notes and I enjoyed the field trips so much that I would have enjoyed attending more meetings. In conclusion, I learned not only about career paths dietitians can take after completing their internship, but also where by interests lie in the field of nutrition and dietetics.

Nutrition 510 Reflection Statement Community Nutrition may have been the class in which I learned the largest variety of material. I enjoyed the wide variety of projects and assignments in this course. My favorite project was the WIC assignment in which students volunteered at a local WIC site. Furthermore, during my time at WIC I observed individual counseling sessions, group sessions, and ultimately, led my very own group session. My experience at WIC was valuable to me as a future Registered Dietitian because it gave me insight that working in the community setting can be very enjoyable. I had been hesitant when beginning my

April 20, 2014

internship because of experiences I had heard past students had at their WIC site, but I was so pleasantly surprised as not only the patrons dispositions, but also the character of the Registered Dietitians on staff. My minor is in Public Health, and am currently enrolled in a Health Behavior course, so it was beneficial for my learning that this course paralleled my Public Health course. Ultimately, my background in public health served useful in the lecture portion of the course. What I gained most from the lecture portion of the class was learning about advanced directives, and even if it may have been an uncomfortable topic to discuss; this lecture left me wondering what I want and led me to ask my parents if they have advanced directives in place. I thought this class was the most applicable to real life, and was a great opportunity to put all of the book-work to use. From observing WIC to writing a legislative letter to creating a lesson plan to practicing interviewing and counseling techniques, this class served as a capstone to the entire undergraduate study of foods and nutrition.