VCU news

By Michael Ford
University News Services

VCU's dietetic intern program bridged a 50-year gulf when five of 12 graduates from the 1953 program returned to campus to get reacquainted with each other and the university's medical campus.

Half a century ago Elizabeth Ann Moore Bundschu, Rosemary Morris Holdaway, Mary Bishop Mostellar, Marilyn Patterson Olney, and Bev Fischer Soshea were classmates for about a year, but had little trouble recalling each other or important buildings that were part of what was then known as the Medical College of Virginia.

They gathered for a tour of the hospitals and facilities at VCU Medical Center. Their guides for the morning were Susan Wilburn and Francine Kerber, two students currently enrolled as dietetic interns. They visited a galley on the 10th floor of Main Hospital, the main kitchen and the cafeteria and saw how the staging, preparation and presentation of meals have changed in five decades.

"The delivery of food has changed so much from the system we had when everything was cooked individually to this big production," Soshea said. "The cook-chill system is a great advantage to the patients because they can get the food hotter and there's more variety allowed."

Established in 1929, the dietetic internship program at VCU is one of the oldest in the country, with more than 850 students completing the 11-month program. The expectations of the dietitian have changed considerably over the years just as advances have come in food preparation techniques.

"Today the dietitian is an integral part of the health care team," said Ann Robbins, M.S., R.D., director of the dietetic internship. "Our role has evolved from simply following the attending physician's orders. Now it is often the dietitian who is making the nutritional recommendations based on his or her assessment of the patient's needs."

Dietetic interns receive training in all areas of medical nutrition therapy. Given the variety of clinical specialties at VCU, dietetic interns work in specialty areas like nutrition support, renal nutrition, oncology, high-risk obstetrics, pediatrics, internal medicine and surgery.

For more information on the Dietetic Internship, call 828-9108.