Diet Aide and Direction Disabled

Better to be lost than not doing anything!
(Image from Abundant Lives Coaching)

As you may or may not know, I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where the motto was "Learn by Doing."  I have adopted a similar phrase called "Learn by Getting Lost".  The phrase describes my twenties as well as many of the experiences I write about .  However, it can also be applied to my freeway navigation abilities.  I get lost 85% of the time I drive somewhere new.  In high school my grandmother bought me a navigation system literally called "GPS Navigation for Dummies" after I ended up on the tollroads and in San Juan Capistrano (or was it San Clemente?) when I tried to drive to her house in Mission Viejo.  I blame this ongoing struggle on my brother, the geography major, who seems to have gotten all of the navigation skills leaving me with no sense of direction.  If I was born before the age of navigation systems and iPhones I would probably be pushing my car somewhere around the San Bernadino Mountains right now.  Although getting lost is frustrating, and sometimes scary, I try to make it into a learning experience.  Like the time I was driving to San Clemente (or was it San Juan Capistrano?), missed my exit and discovered Camp Pendleton.  

Today I learned Norwalk is a real place.  I was driving to fill out applications to be a diet aide at two nursing homes: one in Laguna Hills and one in Belmont Heights (Long Beach area).  I got to Laguna Hills ok and was headed for Long Beach.  Somewhere past Irvine and signs for Gene Autry Way (the Disneyland exit), I realized me, the little dot on my directions, was not on the 405 North or on the blue path designated by iPhone maps.  Hmm this doesn't look like the 405, there's only three lanes and I'm surrounded by dirt and big rigs.  Check nearest sign: Norwalk.  Oooooh so this is what Norwalk looks like, I think I've heard of this place!  Let it be known on September 17, 2012 Shannon Murray realized the city of Norwalk exists.  Anyways, I get off the freeway, retype my directions and see I am 18 miles from the Long Beach nursing home.  I end up following a Camarena tequila truck onto the 91 freeway; this had to be the first time I thanked tequila for anything! I ultimately found my location after I did a couple of loops in every possible direction on the Long Beach traffic circle (I've always liked Merry-Go-Rounds).

So what was I doing leaving carbon footprints all over the Orange County and Long Beach area?  Oh yeah the diet aide position!   I had attempted to fill out applications online but the systems were down.  At first I thought the long drive to two distant areas would be a waste of time.  I made myself do it anyways, I had nothing better to do or lose.  I'm glad I took the trouble to do this in person.  I would hope recruiters would appreciate the effort I made.  To tell you the truth, I have filled out more than 20 online applications for diet aide and technician positions in the last 2 weeks and haven't heard anything from anyone.  Time will tell if this whole "in person" business is more effective.

I should probably tell you what a diet aide is so you can learn something besides the fact that Norwalk exists.  A diet aide (also called diet clerk) is a position that doesn't require a certification or college degree like a Registered Dietitian or Dietetic Technician Registered.  In fact, if you are currently in school and plan on applying to DI's, working as a student diet aide will give you fantastic work experience.  (If you are a Cal Poly SLO student, check Sierra Vista for job or volunteer positions).  Diet Aides can be utilized in hospitals and nursing homes to work closely with Registered Dietitians, food service directors, and kitchen staff.  The position duties vary from facility to facility but may entail tasks such as meal planning, meal preparation, meal delivery, cleaning/dishwashing, and maintaining patient diet records.  A nutrition student could learn a lot from this position such as the various diet orders for patients with certain diseases or disorders.  Diet plans include but aren't limited to categories such as normal, soft, bland, solid, clear liquid, full liquid, cardiac, diabetic and low sodium.  

I also want to point out the large amount of jobs nursing facilities offer.  You may or may not be aware that the field of geriatrics is growing as baby boomers get older.  I had been limiting my job search to hospitals but have now included nursing centers since I have seen many postings from them related to diet aides, diet techs, and other food service positions (cooks, servers, food service directors).  Nursing homes may have a reputation for smelling bad or being unpleasant in general, but I strongly believe there is a level of discomfort you must get over if you wish to work in healthcare.  I took a Nutrition in Aging class my junior year and know that increased age can be accompanied by a long list of nutrition related struggles such as edema, dysphagia, immobility, constipation, and cachexia to name a few.  I think working in a nursing home would offer a whole new world of learning, skills, and perspective to my nutrition repertoire.

Now we can add Diet Aide to the list of nutrition professions along with Registered Dietitian.  I will tell you about Dietetic Technician Registered (DTR) another time because Levi needs a walk and I have to go to Body Pump to keep up with all of the teeny tiny toned OC Housewives out here.