Site Visit
The site visit wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound like it
would be. I think the university and the students were well
prepared for the members of the accreditation site team. The
program has made improvements since they last came and I feel
confident we met their standards. The program is still new and it
does have its growing pains (such that I felt with having to make
up an extra credit of Biomedical Science). However, the school
itself is prestigious and the teachers in the program are top
notch.
Nutrition 101
Speaking of top notch, our Western Nutrition class is great. Dr.
Keith Hartley, a National DC grad, teaches the class. He makes the
class enjoyable because he lectures in terms not above our head and
shares clinical information useful in real life encounters. There
are some classes that give all the facts but don't present them in
a manner that can be utilized outside the classroom, but not this
Nutrition class. It is enjoyable because not only do we learn but
also Dr. Hartley loves to answer questions.
We have learned about digestion and all the mechanisms involved.
We also have learned amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, and my
favorite, the vitamins. We discussed water soluble and fat-soluble
vitamins as well as minerals. We have talked about the different
forms of vitamins and why some brands are cheaper than others,
probably because they don't have the active form of the vitamin,
which makes it almost impossible for the body to utilize and
therefore is flushed down the drain.
Journal Club
Another neat thing we do is something called Journal Club. Dr.
Hartley used to do these in his undergrad days, and what they are
is just that, discussing journal articles. Each student gathers an
article based on nutrition that they are interested in and passes
it along to each student and Dr. Hartley. The next week, after
having read the article, the chosen student also gathers articles
that either support or disregard the topic. They then present the
additional articles to the class and everyone discuses the
topic.
For instance, Dr. Hartley prepped us with an article about the
Atkins diet. The next week he shared articles that were in favor
and against the diet. It is a fun way to keep up to date on
research and not have to do all the work.
So needless to say, now that the trimester is coming to an end,
it's the 14th week and finals are near, I won't mind studying
because I really like all my classes this trimester. I hope you all
had fun learning about my classes this trimester and let me know if
you have any questions.
The pictures posted are of Dr. Hartley teaching and Dr. Jia Xu,
my Friday clinician, who I have blogged about in the past.