What RDs Do: Caroline Roessler MS, RDN, LD

CAROLINE ROESSLER 

IN-STORE NUTRITIONIST 

MARTIN'S FOOD MARKET

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It's great to feature a retail dietitian in the series. I feel like this type of position is becoming more common as we even have a few in my home province now (and we're usually late adopters). It makes so much sense for us to be in the environment where people make decisions about food and perhaps face confusion or try to sort through the misinformation they hear on-line or pretty much anywhere. Caroline loves her job and is passionate about empowering individuals to make positive lifestyle changes that work for them. 

Why did you become a RD? 

I grew up in a Greek and German family where food = love! Besides my love affair with good food, I have always been fascinated with the concept of preventative health, and how the foods we eat can not only prevent many chronic diseases but enhance our quality of life.

What area of dietetics do you work in? 

I am a retail dietitian in a MARTIN’S Food Market located in Richmond, VA.

How would you explain what you do? 

I educate and empower individuals to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle. My personal approach is to promote a positive relationship with food for my clients by using the “all foods fit” mentality, and by meeting people where they are. I love that I can take my clients into the aisles to introduce them to new foods and practice reading labels during a consultation.

What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks? 

I love that my job has no “typical” day! My weeks consist mostly of one-on-one nutrition consultations, during which time I can take clients around the store and we can discover and sample products that may be better choices. I also offer monthly classes and store tours, an associate wellness program, as well as participate in community events such as school career days and talks geared towards specific audiences at local fitness clubs, offices or community centers.

What has been your career path? 

I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Ohio State University, and continued on to do a combined Master’s and dietetic internship at Kent State University during which time I did a one-week elective rotation with a dietitian at a local supermarket. After I passed my registration exam, I gained experience as an instructor at my alma mater, then as a home health care dietitian, but remained drawn to retail dietetics and eventually moved to Virginia from Ohio when I saw the opening for my current position. I love it!

What advanced education or special training do you have? 

I have a Master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics.

In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now? 

I would love to see RD’s with a more pivotal role in health care, and of course with more services covered so that the general population can benefit from our services. Specific to retail dietetics, I believe that the role is growing and a job such as mine will become more common in the future. There are so many benefits that a dietitian can bring to supermarkets, from impacting customer loyalty to increasing sales.

What would you like people to know about RDs? 

My favorite saying around the store is “RD’s are people, too!” My clients often ask if I always eat “healthy”. I tell them that I love things like pizza and ice cream just like the rest of us, but try to choose better options less often, like a homemade pizza with grilled chicken and lots of veggies, or a slow churned ice cream with dark chocolate, nuts and berries.

What is your favourite meal? 

It changes all the time, I love seasonal produce so right now some roasted butternut squash with pine nuts and rosemary, baked salmon and Greek style green beans sounds good!

What tip(s) would you give to our readers? 

Follow your heart! Especially for dietitians who are drawn to community nutrition, don’t feel like you have to go into clinical. If you are ambitious and passionate about what you do, you can find (or make!) the right job for you.

More about Caroline:

Email: CaRoesslerRDN@gmail.com
Linkedin: Caroline Roessler, MS, RDN, LD

Thanks Caroline! Find out more about What RDsDo.

If you're a dietitian that would like to be featured, email me for the details!

What RDs Do: Katie Proctor, MBA, RDN

KATIE PROCTOR

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE & BUSINESS COACH

 ELEVATE WITH KATIE

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I 'know' Katie from a few facebook groups and you'll see below that makes sense! It's always great to learn about the journeys and unique backgrounds that lead dietitians to do what they do. Our jobs evolve and it's exciting to see all the different skills we have. Katie has done and is doing many things. I've been learning about running a business, marketing, etc. along the way the last 6 years, so I can appreciate where she's coming from, plus I know we'd enjoy sitting down to a meal together!

Why did you become an RD? 

I was one of those people who had 7 majors while I was an undergrad because truthfully I didn’t know what I wanted to do nor did I understand all of the opportunities out there. I don’t really have a glamorous “why” except for that I had been interested in food since high school and decided nutrition would be a great alternate career path when I decided med school wasn’t for me.

What area of dietetics do you work in? 

I have my own health coaching business and with my marketing and brand management background I also am a business coach for health, food and fitness entrepreneurs.

How would you explain what you do? 

On the nutrition side, I run monthly health and fitness-related online accountability groups to help busy women put themselves back on their to-do list.

On the business side, I work 1:1 with entrepreneurs who are looking to take their businesses to the next level. Each session is dictated by the individual’s needs, but some topics I address are finding a niche, content strategy/visibility, productivity/systems, creating an offer (what it is, how to price, how to deliver to target audience) and marketing strategy.

What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks? 

For my health coaching clients, I post daily motivation in our app and encourage them to “check in” daily with their workouts and healthy meals. I also spend a lot of time on social media whether it’s managing my own Facebook groups, connecting with current and potential clients and engaging in other relevant Facebook groups. I write blog posts for my own site and guest posts on others and prepare for my 1:1 business coaching client sessions by hosting free discovery calls, reviewing client welcome packets, hosting our sessions and following up with action steps. I should also add that I have a part-time freelance role helping two well-known food bloggers launch a new membership site. I love what I do because no day is ever the same!

What has been your career path? 

From day one as an RD, I’ve been obsessed with business and marketing. I spent a lot of time as a student getting to know entrepreneurial RD’s I admired and believe those connections paid off heavily when I entered the profession. I was one of the co-founders of All Access Internships, a dietetic internship resource and coaching platform for students looking to stand out during the application process, when I was a junior in college and still actively coach students today.

After I graduated from my DI at Vanderbilt, I became an Account Executive at a well-known PR agency working on consumer and B2B (business-to-business) integrated marketing campaigns for food clients across the country. From there, I moved into digital marketing for the organic and natural division of General Mills where I managed all of the consumer touchpoints including social media, email, website and even copywriting for packaging. Most recently, I was the brand manager for a smaller organic food company and really got to hone my product development and traditional marketing skills that were more operations, sales and price promotion focused. I am so grateful for all of my experiences that lead me to where I am today. I worked my coaching business “on the side” for about a year when I decided I was finally ready to leave my full-time job and pursue my entrepreneurial endeavors full-time!

What advanced education or special training do you have? 

I have an MBA and have also taken many online business training courses from Marie Forleo, Amy Porterfield and other high profile online entrepreneurs outside of our industry to learn the ins and outs of list building, sales funnels, offer creation and more.

In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now? 

I would love for business curriculum to be more commonplace in our undergraduate and graduate training and not just the information that serves more traditional roles such as foodservice or dietary management.

What do people think that you do for a living? 

I’m pretty sure my husband thinks I am a professional Facebooker ;).

What are you passionate about in dietetics? 

I am passionate about helping other RD’s promote their services to more people online and not be afraid of selling. 

What is your favourite meal? 

Curry of any kind.

What tip(s) would you give to our readers? 

Make connections with people both inside and outside our industry whose career paths you admire. I had so many mentors help me along the way and I am always willing to give back to others because of this. Sure, some people may so no or not respond but you never know unless you ask.

More about Katie:

Website: www.elevatewithkatie.com
Email: elevatewithkatie@gmail.com
Instagram: @elevatewithkatie

*If you are an entrepreneurial RD, join my private Elevate Your Business Facebook group where we talk about all things biz and branding.

Thanks Katie! Find out more about What RDsDo.

If you're a dietitian that would like to be featured, email me for the details!

What RDs Do: Brenda Marie Schwerdt RDN, LD, CNSC

W

BRENDA MARIE SCHWERDT

INPATIENT & OUTPATIENT CLINICAL

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Brenda figured out that food science and nutrition were where she wanted to be, but her career choice wasn't what she expected she would fall in love with. She also studied enology, which I just learned is the study of wine and culinary skills remain a passion of hers. She's a fellow advocate for dietetics and dietitians with various media jobs above and beyond her day-to-day tasks.

Why did you become a RD?

In my early teen years I was really involved with sports, particularly dance. I thought I wanted to be a sports nutritionist or sports psychologist. Then at 15 years old I got my first food service job and fell in love with the restaurant industry. I knew I needed to make a career out of both food and nutrition.

What area of dietetics do you work in? 

I work in clinical dietetics at a level II trauma hospital. I see a wide variety of patients in both inpatient hospital and outpatient clinic settings. I am a member of my hospital’s multidisciplinary hospice team and multidisciplinary oncology team. I also do quite a bit of media work on behalf of the hospital I work at and for our local dietetic association.

How would you explain what you do? 

My main focus is ensuring hospitalized patients are getting adequate nutrition. This would include doing a nutritional assessment and then completing any necessary interventions. Inventions could include changing diet orders, providing education to patient and staff, and ordering nutrition support. I work in all departments in the hospital but mainly focus on the ICU and oncology units.

When working in the clinic I am helping people learn about nutrition to help manage their health at home. In the clinic I mostly see oncology patients and patients who require home nutrition support. However, I also see patients for obesity, failure to thrive, GI (gastrointestinal) issues, sport nutrition, allergies, and eating disorders.

I think it is really important to make the public know that registered dietitians are the nutrition experts so I try to be a vocal advocate for registered dietitians in our community. I have a bi-weekly newspaper column and have frequent segments on local TV stations, covering a wide variety of nutrition related topics.

What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks?

When I get to the hospital in the morning I get my daily assignment which may include a combination of inpatients, outpatients, media pieces, and meetings.

What has been your career path? 

I did not apply to a dietetic internship when I was in college. I graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities where I took many courses in food science and enology. My first job out of college was working for a wholesale wine broker. I was very excited to be in the restaurant world and thought the wine industry was really exciting. However, I started missing the science of both food science and nutrition. Five years out from college I applied to an internship and was accepted to my first and only choice. At the time I applied for my internship, I thought I would want to work in community health and public policy. I was surprised when I fell in love with clinical dietetics, particularly nutrition support. I really enjoy solving the complex puzzles to make sure people are getting adequate nutrition.

What advanced education or special training do you have?

I am a board certified nutrition support clinician.

In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now?

I would hope that people seek out experts when looking for information. I would like the public to understand that RDs are the experts when it come to nutrition. With such easy access to create and obtain information it is difficult for my patients to know what is accurate. I would like to see RDs have a larger presence in mainstream media, grocery stores, and in community health organizations.

What misinformation about RDs would you like to clear up?

If you are my patient I am not going to criticize you for you food choices. I think a lot of people are intimidated to see a dietitian because they are embarrassed about what they eat and think a dietitian will restrict all the foods they love. I will not take away your favorite foods.

What would you like people to know about RDs?

As this blog shows, there is a huge variety in dietitians. Different RDs become RDs for different reasons. There are people in my office who are very passionate about heart health, diabetes, food access, culinary arts, pediatrics, and nutrition support; and I work in one clinical dietetic office. I approach dietetics from more of a culinary arts/food science perspective, so my way of working with a patient might be very different than a dietitian who approaches patients from a cardiac aspect. Because food can be a very intimate topic, it is important to work with a RD that you trust and is knowledgeable about your specific medical needs.

What do people think that you do for a living?

I don’t think most people know because I am asked so frequently. When I am working in the hospital and checking in on a patient the patient often thinks I am from the kitchen and in their room to take their meal order.

What is your favourite meal?

This is my most favorite question but also the most difficult to answer. It changes greatly depending on my mood and the weather! A classic is spaghetti and meatballs. I love seafood, especially shellfish, and top it with some pineapple infused melted butter. During the summer, I love grilling lots of vegetables; squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers to be served alongside a perfect medium rare steak. I’m a chocoholic, the darker the better.

What tip(s) would you give to our readers?

Learn to cook! It makes my job much easier when patients have a basic understanding of cooking.

More about Brenda:

LinkedIn: Brenda Schwerdt, RDN, LD, CNSC
Facebook: Brenda Schwerdt, RDN, LD, CNSC

Thanks Brenda! Find out more about What RDsDo.

If you're a dietitian that would like to be featured, email me for the details!

What RDs Do: Grace Wong, RD

GRACE WONG
MENTAL HEALTH & PEDIATRICS

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I love that Grace connects food to each person's story. During October I helped with our Agriculture Month in Saskatchewan and the theme was 'Our Food Has A Story' and it truly does. Food plays a large role in our lives and I would enjoy sitting down to a bowl of soup with Grace, especially this time of year in Canada. She mentions the variety of skills dietitians and entrepreneurial dietitians require to succeed and support their patients/clients, we wear many hats and do lots of extra courses and trainings. 

Why did you become a RD?

I really did not know what to expect when I put in my application for dietetics. Fortunately, it felt right as I went through my training. I love stories, and I have always been curious about people's stories. Discovering the meaning of food to a person or a group (a family, a demographic group or patients who share the same health experience) is like reading a story. Every chapter and every detail matter. Being a dietitian allows me to connect with people through their day to day ritual - eating! And every client brings a new story!

What area of dietetics do you work in?

I primarily work in mental health and pediatric nutrition. Common diagnoses I work with include eating disorders, pediatric feeding disorders, mental health issues (addictions, mood and anxiety disorders), ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism spectrum and so on.

How would you explain what you do?

I work with many clients who do not fall into well-defined diagnostic categories. Many individuals and families start out saying "it doesn't make sense". Then we embark on a journey of making sense of their food/nutrition struggles, whatever they may be. Their situations may not have obvious nutrition implications; and often there aren't any standard practice guidelines, so I do a lot of detective work!

What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks?

I work in a hospital outpatient clinic as well as in private practice. My work days are mostly taken up by client appointments. Besides that, I am still learning the ropes of managing a private practice. Other typical tasks include talking to inquiring clients, booking appointments, accounting, managing resources etc.

What has been your career path?

My very first job was in public health/community development. I worked with various social service and mental health agencies on food security projects. That was how I started working in mental health nutrition. And life happens, I have since worked in 7 different positions in 3 provinces. While these jobs were all different, there were some peculiar connections. My clinical work eventually branched out to a diverse mix of mental health and pediatric nutrition.

My current aspiration is to be more creative in my work. Operating a small business is really out of my comfort zone, but it certainly has allowed a lot of freedom and creativity.

What advanced education or special training do you have?

I completed a master's degree in Health Promotion Studies at the University of Alberta. My graduate work focused on the determinants of health in vulnerable populations including families living in poverty, single parents, Aboriginal groups and people living with mental illnesses etc.

Additional training I had: nutrition therapy for disordered eating, various model-specific trainings in eating disorders, group therapy facilitation, motivational interviewing, allergy & food intolerances, feeding therapy, parent-child relationship and feeding relationship.

In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now?

This is a big question, maybe I would just touch on what's most relevant in my clinical practice. Dietitians are only working in a small subset of health care settings. It would be great to see dietitians working in more primary care clinics and specialized services. Over and over again, I hear other health professionals say "We need a dietitian on our team!"

What misinformation about RDs would you like to clear up?

Dear clients, we may assess your nutrition health for your well-being, but we do not judge you as a person based on what you eat. I sincerely mean it!

What are challenges you encounter as a RD?

Letting go of what I think is best for my clients and being patient with the journey they choose. Walking along with people is what I love about what I do, but it can be very difficult some days.

What are you passionate about in dietetics?

Make time to eat! Eat and hang out with your loved ones, even better! I am a huge believer that how you eat matters just as much as what you eat. It is my passion to advocate that eating is a self-care experience, not a chore!

What is your favourite meal?

A hearty bowl of soup is my all time favourite! Soups convey comfort and warmth, and you can pack a lot of nutrition in one pot!

More about Grace:

Email: gracewongrd@gmail.com

Thanks Grace! Find out more about What RDsDo.

If you're a dietitian that would like to be featured, email me for the details!