Meet Sarah, a 45-year-old community dietitian with over 15 years of experience working in a bustling downtown Toronto clinic. Known for her love of 90s pop music and her obsession with The Great British Bake Off, Sarah brings a blend of fun and professionalism to her practice. Between client sessions, you might catch her humming along to the Spice Girls or daydreaming about her next baking project. But when it comes to her clients, Sarah is laser-focused, especially when working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds dealing with complex medical conditions.
Sarah is part of the “sandwich generation”, with two teenage children at home and aging parents to look after, she has a very busy schedule. She was finding she didn’t have time to keep up with nutrition trends, changing evidence, and certainly no time to make or search for client handouts in her free time. Then she found DSC and now can save at least 1 hour every day in prepping for her many clients.
A Typical Day
Sarah’s day is packed with back-to-back appointments, so preparation is key. With just 10 minutes between clients to review charts and plan her sessions, she leans on Dietitian Success Center (DSC) to efficiently source the resources she needs. Today, she’s getting ready to meet Mr. Patel, a 67-year-old man of South Asian descent recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, with an A1C of 9.2%. In addition to diabetes, Mr. Patel struggles with chronic constipation, making his case complex.
Preparing for the Appointment
With only minutes to spare, Sarah logs into DSC and heads to the Diabetes category, quickly reviewing Mr. Patel’s chart to identify his main needs:
- Uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes
- Need for diabetes education and meal planning guidance
- Constipation management
Educating on Diabetes Basics
Sarah knows Mr. Patel may need foundational education on diabetes, given his recent diagnosis. She immediately downloads the Diabetes Basics handout from DSC, which offers a clear explanation of diabetes. This tool saves Sarah 15 minutes of prep, as she no longer needs to create her own materials from scratch.
Diabetes Meal Planning Guide
Next, Sarah pulls up the Diabetes Meal Planning Guide from DSC, which is perfect for helping Mr. Patel navigate his meals. Together, they’ll use the Weekly Meal Planner to design culturally appropriate meals—incorporating familiar foods like dal, sabzi, and whole-grain rotis, while managing his condition. This guide saves Sarah another 20 minutes, giving her a structured yet flexible plan that Mr. Patel can follow without feeling overwhelmed.
Additional Resources for Follow-Up
Sarah knows the value of visual learning, so she saves the link to DSC’s Diabetes Basics YouTube Video. After the appointment, if Mr. Patel prefers visual content, she can easily send him the video to reinforce what they discussed.
Additionally, she makes a mental note to use resources like the Fiber Guide and Carbohydrate Counting for future sessions, tailoring the information based on his progress.
Addressing Digestive Health: Managing Constipation
Given Mr. Patel’s complaint of chronic constipation, Sarah switches to DSC’s Digestive Health section. She reviews the Constipation Evidence Summary for a refresher and picks out key messages for Mr. Patel. She then prints the Constipation and Diet Handout, a resource that provides dietary recommendations on fiber-rich foods that fit seamlessly into Mr. Patel’s cultural preferences.
By utilizing DSC, Sarah has successfully prepared a culturally relevant, evidence-based care plan for Mr. Patel in just 10 minutes, and saved at least 30-minutes in prep time for this single patient.