Summary of Learning

Throughout this course, I have been able to see myself improve on many fronts from

becoming more knowledgeable about cultural diversity to becoming more capable with regards

to finding valid and meaningful research. When I had first started this course, I was not very

confident in my abilities with regards to understanding the area of public health, as shown by my

first competency assessment. Although I still have much to learn about the world of public health

as it is an area with seemingly endless information, I feel much better equipped to step into the

healthcare field after completing this course along with my other community nutrition courses

this semester. By evaluating different domains on which I was asked about my competency, I

decided to focus on ​cultural competency, public health sciences, policy development/program

planning, and leadership and systems thinking.

The first domain in which I wanted to improve upon was that of cultural competency.

Given the need for increased diversity within the healthcare and public health teams, it seemed

very important to try to further educate myself in this area. Comparing my self assessment for

competency, I improved to a 3.0 average from a 1.9 average score from the beginning to the end

of the semester. This is because I feel much more confident in my ability to advocate for

diversity in our workforce. I also feel as if I am more comfortable in admitting that there is still

much for me to learn with regards to culture. This is important because it shows that I am ready

to learn more to become a better professional to advocate for the diverse populations with which

we encounter every day.

The second domain that I chose to focus on this semester was ​public health sciences. This

set of competencies and skills are important to acknowledge because they reflect my confidence
in my ability to give tangible data and evidence from research to help my public health practice. I

showed great improvement in this category moving from a 1.7 to a 2.6 throughout the course of

the semester. What really helped me become more confident in my ability to analyze valid and

meaningful research in the context of public health were the numerous case studies that I was

provided with in my medical nutrition therapy course. These case studies required that I find

research articles to answer the many questions that they provided me with. Doing this allowed

me to practice my research analysis, and I believe that my analysis will grow as I go further into

my professional career.

The third domain which I focus on this semester was that of policy development and

program planning. My improvement in this competency shows via my scores which improved

from a 2,2 to a 2.7. Though this may not seem like a large increase in competency, this sector of

health is very in depth and expanzie, so a small increase actually translated to a large amount of

educational value to me. Given the current discussions around healthcare, I wanted to educate

myself on how policy has influenced the healthcare system and how we can make improvements

to it in the future. For this reason, reading ​An American Sickness ​by Elisabeth Rosenthal proved

to be the most important factor when increasing my knowledge on healthcare policy due to its

immense amount of content on policy. This book inspired me to learn more about public health

policy, and I have an interest moving forward to learn more about this important aspect of public

health.

The final domain on which I chose to focus on this semester was that of leadership and

systems thinking. Throughout the semester, I improved my score in this competency from a 2.0

to a 3.0. This is mostly due to the fact that I was able to lead a project through Greater Spokane

County Meals on Wheels during my community nutrition internship during this semester. Being
able to participate in a professional development opportunity such as this where I was able to

apply my previous knowledge gave me confidence for the future.

Though I had focused on these four domains, I was still able to improve upon

competencies such as community dimensions of practice through constant community projects in

my community internships through Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels and Eat Smart

Idaho. I was also able to greatly improve upon my communication skills by learning to work as a

team and leading the Diner’s Choice project at Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels. In the

future, I hope to expand upon these competencies even more as I start my career in the field of

dietetics. As someone who is very interested in pursuing a career in the field of community

nutrition/dietetics, I find that improving upon these competencies will be quite beneficial to both

me and those around me. Overall, this project and course allowed for me to develop a better

understanding of the professional that I want to become in my future.