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Ashley Petrik

Professor Brademan

KNH103

7 March 2022

Report 4 Sports Nutrition

For my Report 4 Job Assignment I interviewed Nikki Finkenthal, a sports nutritionist,

who works at McDaniel Nutrition Therapy. At McDaniel Nutrition Therapy, Nikki is the leading

dietician in a private practice. In Saint Louis, McDaniel Nutrition Therapy focuses on eating

disorders, sports nutrition, weight management, and counseling. The sessions are 75 periods of

time focusing on future goals, medical history, and developing programs. The sessions have

follow up meetings that are 30-45 minutes, visiting with recurring clients every 2-3 weeks. The

responsibilities that Nikki also has at McDaniel Nutrition Therapy include resource development,

workshop development, corporate wellness, and presentations.

Nikki Finkenthal attended Miami University for her undergraduate degree in science.

After attending Miami University, she had an internship at Fountbaun in Saint Louis with a year

and a half program. She also completed 1300 hours of shadowing internship programs at

multiple hospitals. Following clinical work, Nikki completed a food service internship at

McDaniel Nutrition Therapy, her current job. She completed her RD Exam in 2019, with three

months of preparation. After completing her RD Exam, Nikki got her first clinical job at Saint

Louis Hospital and was working as a dietitian in oncology and trauma, for three years. On the

trauma floor, she worked with mainly cancer and bone marrow transplant patients. After this

occupation, Nikki had switched to step-down trauma, and then to her current position at
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McDaniel Nutrition Therapy as the lead dietitian specializing in sports nutrition and eating

disorders.

At McDaniel Nutrition Therapy, as the leading dietitian, Nikki stated that the most

challenging aspect of her position was helping clients in developing a sense of routine and habits

regarding their goals. This is due to the fact that each clients’ lives are different and the sources

of motivation vary between patients. In regards to what Nikki dislikes about her current

occupation she stated how it is challenging to learn each client personally as well as their

lifestyle. When asked what she likes about her current position as the lead dietitian, Nikki

responded with the willingness of the clients when coming in and looking for support and being

eager to make changes, goals, and motivation.

Regarding the educational background of Nikki Finkenthal, she stated that the most

useful background work included her masters in science focusing on motivational interviewing

and medical chronic disease states. With internships in her educational background, Nikki stated

that the food service internship at her current job, McDaniel Nutrition Therapy, was the least

useful regarding her current position as the leading dietitian focusing on sports nutrition, eating

disorders, and counseling.

In regards to making this occupation better, Nikki stated that there are no issues with the

job that she has the ability to improve. However, if there was something that she would choose to

fix in order to make the job more efficient it would be administrative issues. The trends in this

field include the covid transitions for inpatients and one on one client counseling meetings to

virtual and remote sessions. For the majority of patients, in-person counseling sessions are

preferred in order to effectively interact and connect with individuals to benefit from the sessions

by explaining medical history, lifestyles, routine, habits, and motivation.

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Certifications for Nikki’s position as the leading dietitian at McDaniel Nutrition Therapy

include a Bachelors in Science, Masters in Science, an RD certification, become licensed in the

state of Missouri, become approved by insurance, and the inclusion of one additional

specialization, which is eating disorders.

This experience, interviewing Nikki Finkenthal, was extremely useful regarding assisting

me in focusing on the nutrition path that I am interested in. I have been interested in sports

nutrition as well as eating disorders, which is what Nikki focuses on at McDaniel Nutrition

Therapy. By talking to Nikki, I learned about the educational background that was helpful in her

career path, as well as less useful internships and careers that were not beneficial to her current

occupation. Learning about how the occupation has changed since COVID-19 was extremely

interesting to see how counseling and interacting with clients has transitioned to virtual sessions.

Nikki thoroughly explained her educational background, internships, clinical and food service

work, and her current position as the leading dietitian focusing on sports nutrition and eating

disorders, which was beneficial in assisting me in learning about different paths of nutrition and

dietetics.