As part of orientation, the new interns have had workshops taught by dietitians from all different departments at the hospital. It’s been a great way to put some names to faces and get a sense of what each of our rotations will be like. For the most part, this has made some rotations seem far less intimidating.

Yesterday, one of the RDs was talking about which kinds of nutrients to prioritize in situations where the body needs all the help it can get to heal.

“I know everyone says Americans eat too much protein,” she said, but explained that a lot of people eat very poor quality protein. “Most people just need to eat a steak when they’re in the hospital!” All due respect to vegetarian diets, many RDs strongly believe that some acute care situations may call for more bioavailable sources of protein. I really don’t know enough yet to have formed a solid opinion, but I’m curious to see how many thinking evolves over time.

I feel like hospital steak would be a pretty sad thing to behold (if it’s available to be behold at all), but you never know, I could be wrong. I can’t help picturing those little “minute steaks.” I remember making those in college once in a while during those “OMG I need iron and some freaking chocolate NOW” weeks. Guess I’ll find out what the meat situation is during my Foodservice rotation*…

What are your thoughts about hospital food? How does it compare to airplane food?

*Just a note: For confidentiality reasons, I won’t be sharing many specifics about my rotations. It’s not me being shady—just following the law!