Week 4 at CMC Union

This week has started off pretty slow (the dietitian I was with and I saw all our patients for the day before 11:30am, and we didn't start until 9). I do have a few interesting things to note though. First, I've noticed this week that I am beginning to be familiar with some of the doctors and nurse secretaries. They are beginning to remember me, especially the one doctor that likes to believe I am 14. I enjoy interacting with the doctors and nurses because everybody is pretty laid back and very nice (even though I've probably asked a stupid question or two).

Second, I saw a modified barium swallow on Monday. This was a surprisingly frustrating experience as I had a hard time telling what was going on in the display screen, and I don't like to not understand things. The SLP did a good job of explaining it to me at the end though. Although I had a hard time telling where the airway was in relation to the esophagus (although I did see the epiglottis), I did notice that whatever the patient swallowed seemed to linger around instead of going down quickly. His prescription at the end was for honey-thick liquids only.

Lastly, the dietitian's talk in the office this week has been centered on one doctor that is prescribing a "no high fructose corn syrup" diet for cardiac/diabetic patients. This has caused some ruckus in nutrition and food services because that is not currently an existing diet. The dietitians are planning to confront the doctor since neither I nor the other dietitians have been able to find substantial evidence to support such a strict diet. Today we emailed the ADA to ask their position (which is a great resource if you ever have questions but can't find a position paper), and they got back to us in the same day (I haven't seen their response yet though). If anyone else has encountered this and has research for or against it, let me know!