Update!

Allow me to describe my first week of rotations...

My first rotation is 3 weeks long (1.5 to go) and is based in Outpatient Counseling and Diabetes.  I work in two outpatient clinics at the JC (John Cochran Hospital) location.  In one clinic, I do diabetes counseling and in the other clinic I see patients for a variety of ailments including (but not limited to): weight loss, weight gain, malnutrition, High blood pressure, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (aka GERD).  The most eye opening experiences have been working with the diabetes patients and the patients who are underweight due to psychological reasons and HIV.

Before this rotation here were my thoughts: 

"diabetes should be pretty simple to figure out."

"I think i'll like counseling." 

"I hope I like working with the veterans."

Here are some of my thoughts (and actions) throughout the rotation thus far:

"I hate counseling"

"I want to go home"

"can I go back to bed?!"

"I didn't learn crap about diabetes in undergrad...what am I doing?!"

evolving to...

*crying

*anxiety

evolving further into:

"I'm starting to understand this diabetes stuff."

*enjoying the challenges of the learning process

*being OK with not knowing everything-that's why I'm here.

"I loooove the veterans!"

"Life is good."

A roller-coaster to say the least.  I felt so inadequate at first but my confidence has soared in the past 2 day.  A huge benefit to this job is that the mood at the hospital is always incredibly positive! I'm so amazed at how friendly and helpful everyone is-and the vets are no exception.  The veterans are absolutely wonderful and just being in their presence puts me in a better mood.  So far in outpatient they have been nothing but gracious, kind, and complimentary (really good for my ego).

Last Friday night we had a party at our house for all the interns (current and past SLU interns included).  We had over 50 people in our house- 4 were men.  It was a blast.

The festival of nations was also this weekend in the park by my house-tons of international food, entertainment and stuff to buy...here are some pics:)

Above: A whole lotta food booths and people

Farmer Jayne

Today I was an organic farmer...OK maybe "weed puller" is a more accurate label.  Nonetheless, I had a great time and was really amazed at the commitment and the knowledge it takes to run a successful organic farm.

Earth Dance Organic Farm employs techniques like companion planting-meaning they plant certain crops next to other insect prone crops in order to deter pests.  An example of this would be planting fragrant basil next to tomatoes in order to protect them.  They also manually walk the rows of plants, pick off the beetles and other pests and squash them on the spot.  Pest control at its most primitive.

Earth dance Organic Farm Website

Grow Organic Website

Here are some photos of the experience:

Tomorrow I start my actual rotations-There is so much to learn!

"High-tech tomatoes.  Mysterious milk.  Supersquash.  Are we supposed to eat this stuff?  Or is it going to eat us?"

 ~Annita Manning

During my internship, i'll be at several locations but mostly spending my time between two hospitals: Jefferson Barracks VA hospital and John Cochran VA hospital.  

Jefferson Barracks (JB) history: click here !

A view of JB with the river in the background.

The Barracks has a lovely (and huge!) cemetery which contains about 20,000 gravesites! It's really amazing to see.  Reminds me of Arlington National Cemetery.

It's very common to see deer at JB-They walk around the cemetery and eat the grass and flowers.  They are NOT afraid of people at all.  Very cool!

John Cochran, also known as "JC," is closer to downtown St. Louis-right next to the fabulous Fox Theater!

John Cochran VA medical center

I'm official as of today! I got my badge, pager (haha!), and keys to the hospital offices.  I can't wait until I get my first page...

Happenings.

Below: Friday afternoon shopping at Soulard Farmers market.  It's my favorite place in St. Louis so far- I got 2 packages of strawberries for $1.00 from a sweet little old man.  

Also, today (Saturday) I went with my roommate Amber to a church called "The Journey" that's just across the park from our place.  It was a great service except for the communion part.  Apparently, in true Jayne fashion, I wasn't paying attention to their way of doing things.  So I went up, got my bread and proceeded to grab the communion cup and tip it to my mouth (just like we do at home!).  The guy holding the cup seemed a bit resistant and I was embarrassed to notice (after I had already tainted the cup with my chapstick and germs) that people were dipping the bread into the cup-not drinking from it.  GOOPS!  I got some looks.  I laughed.

Above: Cloudy view from our dinner spot in the backyard

Below: Amber (roommate) and Matt ready to enjoy some dinner 

The real world is too real for my liking...

What happened to 11am class, eat, 2pm class, go home, nap, homework/social time, bed?! I was looking forward to the 8-4:30 schedule but now I'm not entirely sure what I think about it.  I'll give it time.

Yesterday was the first day of the internship and we were greeted by our wonderful (really!) director Kim.  She is a very strong woman but lucky for us she's empathetic and kind as well.  Here are the 5 other interns (from left) Megan, Abby, Catie, Anna and Emily.

Those giant blue binders that take up the entire table (and soon our lives), are filled with information about our rotations that will start August 23rd.  It also contains information about our 10+ projects we are to do by the end of the year including a research paper, a public policy paper, and an assignment where we get to write 2 articles for the local newspaper and get them published (I'm excited about this one).

We are all anxious about this process-everything we do will be evaluated and monitored.  Plus, yesterday we took a 2 hour pre-test covering all that encompasses dietetics and today we took an hour long test on diabetes.  I realize that I've somehow...um....misplaced much of my UNL education, oops!- but i'll pick it up again I'm sure.  On the flip-side, our rotations only last 1, 2, or 3 weeks so I will constantly be doing something new each week.  Looking forward to getting into the rotations! Tomorrow I take a test on medical terminology that I have to get an 80% on to continue with the program so i'm going to go study! Peace out.

Why a plant based diet?

I want to address the reason why I have decided to adopt a mostly whole foods/plant based diet.  I have been wanting to try this for awhile, but haven’t for reasons of convenience and because I didn’t want to have to justify to anyone my reasons for doing the diet (silly, I know).  However, no diet can heal and prevent chronic disease like a plant based one. 

An increasing number of Americans fall victim to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer. In America, we pay more for our health care than any other country in the world.  Therefore, one would think that our healthcare system would rank above other countries-right?!  Unfortunately, the U.S. is consistently among the worst performers in comparison.  With this diet, I don’t simply want to follow another fad diet.  A plant based diet IS NOT A FAD DIET.  It’s not based on high protein or low carbohydrate, or replacing my meals with a protein shake.  Rather, it’s a diet that  has great benefits for health and well-being that I want to experience. 

 I’m not interested in a plan to lose weight or to “detox.” I simply want to follow a health prescription for maximal health that is simple, easy to follow, and offers incredible benefits (without any odd side effects).  It’s not a menu plan, it doesn’t require daily charts and calorie counting and the supporting evidence is overwhelming.  Throughout my time in school, and by examining different (peer reviewed, valid) studies, I’ve become aware that advanced heart disease, relatively advanced cancers of certain types, diabetes, and a few other degenerative diseases can be relieved and even reversed by diet. I have chosen to start this lifestyle as a method of prevention so that someday I don’t have to deal with these diseases.  My concern is really not the length of my life, but rather the quality of it.  The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and spices and so far it has been wonderful!

If anyone is interested in reading some studies pertaining to any of this information, I have a list of over 100 studies from legitimate scientific journals (NOT MENS HEALTH or SHAPE or any other “health” magazine you might see while in line at Wal-Mart) that I would be glad to share.      

Freedom is(n't) Free.

Tomorrow I start my dietetic internship with the VA hospitals of St. Louis Missouri.  I have no expectations except that i'll be working my butt off for the next 10 months.  Here's what I know about the internship so far:

1.  My internship director prefers that we all try switching to vegan diets.  I'm in.  

2.  I'll be doing clinical, community and management rotations-details to come!

3.  There are 6 of us in the program.

4.  I have to wear white pants some days. Gross.  

So today i'm at Hartford coffee company down the street from my house trying to get myself organized for the coming year by studying medical terminology.  It's going to be an interesting and wonderful year.  

Levi drove me down here and stayed for 4 days-it was great! We went to the zoo, ate A LOT, went to my neighborhood farmers market, did some shopping, and just explored the city.  It was great having him here-it made the move that much smoother.  Needless to say, when he left yesterday a little bit of anxiety set it as I came to the realization that I was alone in an unfamiliar city.  So I embraced the feelings and had a little talk with God to soothe my soul.  This process has made me realize that i'm certainly not alone-I have the support of my amazing family, I've got an incredibly supportive significant other, I live in the BEST neighborhood in STL called Tower Grove South, and God is (and always has been) right there for me.  

Here are my goals for this year, let's see how I fare in the end:

1.  Don't be a hater.  (Welcome every new experience/person with open arms and an open mind).

2.  Keep a mostly vegan diet.  (I'm really excited about this one).

3.  Trust God and be accepting of his plans for my life

Life is Good.

My hood: Tower Grove South Neighborhood