reading The Girls Guide to Homelessness. Really good.

finally hiking up to the Hollywood sign!

eating out like 10 meals in a row. BAD!

walking home from work in flats. I made it about 3.25 miles and then I had to call Richie to pick me up.

getting into my annual spring/summer raw food grove with dinner at Cafe Gratitude with my fave LA Blogger, Lynn.

creating really fun infographics at work.

taking a road trip to Vegas. One of the joys of LA is the endless amounts of road trips. We used to drive 4 hours to Wisconsin. Now we have our pick of Vegas, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Palm Springs, Big Bear…ok, I’ll stop bragging.

reading Unorthodox. Also very good.

attending my first Social Media Club LA function.

spending the weekend in Napa for a Science and Culinary Retreat: Plant-Powered Eating: The Role of Peanuts in Healthy Diets, put on by The Peanut Institute. It also meant I got to spend the weekend hanging out with Mercedes and finally meet Lori! You can expect many peanuts in your future.

my Napa trip included cooking at the Culinary Institute of America (squeel!) AND meeting some really great people. Like Alyssa. <– Really fun blog.

trying out Bludso’s (BBQ joint in LA) – it was wonderful.

trying out The Scientific 7-Minute Workout. Have you heard about it? I tried it on Saturday (2 times through) and am still sore. 

eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for breakfast – OBSESSED! (see peanuts, above)

 What’s going on with you? 

Things have been quiet here this week in light of Boston and my heart is still heavy. Sending love and prayers.

{Today is the last installment of the so you want to be a nutritionist post – part 1 | part 2 - I hope you have enjoyed learning more about what dietitians actually do!}

Hello, my name is Amanda Hernandez and I am a registered dietitian that blogs at The Nutritionist Reviews. I am happy to be here to share with you what I do as a dietitian and what a typical day looks like for me.

I work full time at a nursing home as a long term care dietitian. I did not originally plan to work in long term care but I love it.

When I first graduated college with my bachelor’s degree in dietetics, I was not matched to an internship the first time. I was devastated but kept working toward my goal to become a RD. I found a full time job where I worked as a Certified Dietary Manager in a nursing home which was a similar position to my current one. About a year and a half later, I was matched to an internship and became an RD in July 2012.

At my job in the nursing home, I get to see and do so many different things. Here is what a typical day looks like for me:

I arrive at work at 6:45 AM. When I first get to work, I usually check my email, catch up on any new admissions and discharges and check the FAR (Food Acceptance Record- shows how much the residents are eating). At 9 AM, I attend a daily morning meeting with the management staff and right after is our clinical meeting. In the clinical meeting, weight loss, falls, pain, behavioral and clinical issues are discussed with the care team.

The rest of my day varies a lot depending on what is going on with my residents. Some of the things that I do are:

• New admission assessments where I look at resident’s diagnoses, diet, weight history, labs, medications and nutritional needs. 
• MDS assessments and care plans
• Log and chart on weight loss and gain
• Add supplements to resident’s diets as needed to meet nutritional needs
• Calculate and monitor tube feeding
• Ensure that resident’ s with wounds are getting proper nutrition
• Work on food service issues (this is not often because the dietary manager mostly handles food service)
• Do quality assurance audits where I explore ways that we can improve our current systems.
• Attend resident care conferences with family members where we discuss the plan of care for the resident and solve any issues going on. 

As you can see, I do all kinds of different tasks which helps to keep my day interesting. I love what I do and would highly recommend checking out long term care positions for anyone who is a RD or who is interested in becoming a RD. Many new dietitians do not think that they would enjoy working in a nursing home but it is a great option. I get to use many of my clinical skills and nutrition knowledge.

After work, I often work on my blog, The Nutritionist Reviews or write nutrition articles for Demand Studios.

If you have any questions about becoming a dietitian or about what I do, please feel free to email me achernandez711@yahoo.com.

A big thanks to Emily for letting me guest post on her blog!

{Thank you Amanda for sharing your story and what a typical day for you looks like! Stay in touch with Amanda here: facebook | twitter}