Episode 21: How to Improve the Dietetic Internship with Lydia Conner, RDN
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Episode Transcription
Emily:
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Up-Beet Dietitians Podcast. Today we're joined with another very fun guest that I'm going to have Hannah introduce.
Hannah:
Yes. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Pod. Today we are joined by our peer and good friend Lydia Connor. She is also a Purdue graduate, just like we are. Lydia, welcome to the podcast.
Lydia:
Thank you. I'm really happy to be here having me so excited.
Hannah:
Well, we usually have our guest start by explaining kind of a day in the life, like what you're doing right now. Talk about your work, your education, hobbies, that kind of stuff. So why don't you go ahead and start us there?
Lydia:
Okay. Well, I graduated in May from the same program that Hannah went through for her dietary internship, the coordinated program at Purdue. I've been taking a couple of vacations this summer. I went to Seattle, and after that, I just really hunkered down and studied for the Dietetic exam, and then I took another vacation after passing the exam. So I've been kind of all over the place this summer, but just enjoying that postgrad life for a minute while also trying to look for jobs and apply for jobs. So I've been kind of all over the place, but also just working on kind of planning a content strategy for my Instagram and hoping to get more content out there soon. I've definitely taken a break and just kind of been really laid back with that because of everything else going on. But other than that, just living life in the summer, doing bike rides, runs, hanging out with my boyfriend, hanging out with friends, just having a good time. Awesome. But it just feels so good to have that RD exam done. That feeling is just like none other. It's still weird to think about, and I've had some friends reaching out panicking about it, but I'm like, you are going to be fine if I made it. You can do it. It's crazy, but definitely studied, like, it was the hardest exam I'd ever taken or the hardest final I'd ever taken. I thought he was like, crazy, and so I understand their stress, but I have full faith and all my friends who are preparing for that exam, too.
Hannah:
Yeah, we should do, like, a whole podcast on that, Emily, like how to prepare for the exam. That'd be a good one.
Emily:
Oh, yeah. I feel like Purdue prepares you guys. Well, though that's true. They do. I felt pretty confident. I'm sure they'll all be successful. It is definitely daunting at the end of, like, the light at the end of the tunnel. And that's the final step but that'll be great. And they make you do that survey after you finish. Did you guys have that? And you just want to see your results, like, do that survey first. Just the word.
Lydia:
Yeah. I was not sure how it was doing during the exam, and I was like, maybe I'll have to do more questions or something, and I took a second at 125 questions. I was like, okay, I have some time left. I'm going to just chill for a second, hype myself up to press the next button. And of course, when I finally hyped myself up for it, they,
Emily:
oh, my God. Wait. That's so good. I thought you were about to say, like, there's another question that happens to all of us, but, oh, my gosh. Wait. That's like, best case scenario.
Lydia:
Yeah, I guess that's true. I just was like, oh, my gosh. Now I have to answer this survey, but it all worked out
Hannah:
So kind of what the topic of this episode is, especially since Lydia is fresh out of the dietetic internship process. We are going to kind of be discussing some potential improvements and feedbacks about the entire process because, as you guys know, we discussed in previous episodes in order to become a dietitian, you have to do some type of supervised internship experience. And like, every program, there's always room for improvement. And that's why we are here today to give our two cent on, I guess more. So Lydia is going to give her two cent. We'll try it. We'll hype her up. Yeah, for all of her constructive criticism. So kind of to start us off. Lydia, if you want to go into what a dietetic internship is for anyone who might not know, and then why is it relevant to become a dietitian? I know. I literally just said you have to be a dietitian. But more specific details, I guess, into what that looks like and the relevance.
Lydia:
Yeah. So a Dietetic internship, as you guys know, is supervised practice and an accredited program, and that just kind of means there has to meet a certain requirement for kind of what you are going to experience topics you're going to cover areas you need to see and experience in order to prepare you to be an entry level dietitian. You're required to do 1200 hours of supervised practice, and that's under usually a registered dietitian. It kind of depends on the realm. I know sometimes people in food service might not be under a registered dietitian, but they're usually fully aware of the requirements that you have to meet. And these Dietetic internships, I know, are very competitive. The coordinated program was pretty competitive as well, but I know my friends who applied for other programs were very stressed out when they were kind of hearing back about their matches and everything, so they're definitely very competitive, usually unpaid. Some will have a stipend that they'll provide, but it's essentially working full time, as well as doing lots of different assignments and case study papers and things like that. So it usually is about the length of a school year for people. I know some just do it a little differently. Some will do the internship hours while doing the undergrad coursework. So that can be pretty stressful, I think, too. But I think that would be kind of interesting to experience. Not that I want to do it again, but I almost feel like that would have been better for me. I'm not sure, but that could be cool. My program did community food service and clinical as well as an engagement rotation at the end. So community was three weeks. Food service was maybe, like 13,12 or 13 weeks. Clinical was a very long one for me. It was, actually, I think, 15 or 16 weeks by the end of mine because I ended up extending it and I'll get more into that a little bit later. But then my engagement rotation at the end was five weeks, so lots of fun there.
Emily:
So that was a really great summary of kind of what the internship is, what it might entail. This can look very different depending on the program. But I feel like produce is a pretty standard of what you might see across all the Dietetic internships. So if you kind of want to go a little bit more in depth into your different rotations, you talked about, like community food service, clinical engagement, and you can really discuss, however in depth you'd like and then kind of I guess, like the highlights of each rotation that you'd like to cover. You think listeners would be interested to hear about or kind of get a more inside look into what we're actually doing in these rotations.
Lydia:
Okay. Yeah. So my first rotation, like I said, was the community rotation, and that was only three weeks. And I wish it had been a little bit longer because I really do enjoy community, and that's more like the public health prevention side of Dietetics usually. But sometimes sports nutrition can be kind of classified as a community dietitian role, stuff like that. But I was at American Dairy Association, like I said, and that was actually all virtual because of Covid. So there was only one day in the office, and that was just so we could see the office and see kind of what they're working with when they're in the office. That was a lot of different informational handouts. We did a food pantry packet with lots of different recipes, nutrition information about dairy nutrition, information about other food groups as well, different resources to go to different websites for more nutrition information and even some activities for kids to work on in the very back. So that was probably close to 100 pages, but it was a team effort. So there was another intern there and a couple of dietitians. Actually, I think there were three dietitians on staff at American Dairy Association, and they only have, like, seven or eight employees. So most of the people who work there seem to be dietitians. That was a cool environment to start out in and to kind of hear the background of some of the dietitians that worked there and how they got to where they were after that, I went to my first food service role, and that was lots of fun. I feel like it wasn't my favorite, but I still think I enjoyed it because it was familiar, and I definitely have had the most experience leading up to the internship in food service that was just at a nearby hospital. I'm in the Indianapolis area, for reference, but that one just lots of different projects, trying to improve the processes and learn all the different roles of the kitchen staff just to help with the management style.
Hannah:
Yeah. I was going to say I feel like my experience in food service was mostly like project based. I had to do a certain catering event and write a paper on that. I had to plan a couple of menus. It's some management, at least in my case, it was like some management. I did, like shadow the manager of the kitchen. I was working in and see what she did in terms of employee payroll and that kind of stuff. But it was a lot more working closer with the actual staff that were making the food, giving that to patients, catering events. That kind of stuff. Do you feel like yours is kind of like that or is it more like managerial?
Lydia:
Mine was more like what you were saying. I feel like there were definitely opportunities to do the managerial roles, but that was more in the staff relief period of rotation. So most of it was lots of assignments learning all the different roles. And then I did a Greek themed meal for the catering, but that was just in the cafeteria with Covid. There was a lot of catering events happening at that time, so it still was really successful, and the food turned out really great. The staff there was all very nice and super helpful and all really pitched in for that. So it was great to have a good team there and feel very supported in that role because I think sometimes it can feel really intimidating to be serving so many people all at once and not really know how to approach it at times. But I was lucky to have a very supportive staff there to answer any questions that I had help me with any of the ordering, or I helped pitch in with the food prep. I would not say that I did most of that. They did a lot of that, but I was overseeing that, and that was a cool thing to experience. But I'd say that was the most fun part of that rotation, for sure.
Hannah:
Yeah. I feel like it's kind of weird for the staff, like, who works there every day and makes the food to have, like, some weird intern there who, like, is fresh from College. Are they there to supervise us? Are they there to help us? Like, what's going on? So that was kind of a weird thing, too. It's just, like, kind of explaining our role there because I didn't really ever know my role. Personally, I don't quite know where I stand with you guys. I'm only going to be here for, like, three weeks before I go on to the next community hospital to do my food service there. So I don't know that was kind of a weird thing, too. That's just part of being an intern because you're not established anywhere. Like, you are as a full time employee. So I think that's just again, a struggle of being an intern. They can really change about that. But that was kind of a weird thing. I experienced, too.
Lydia:
Yeah. And two, you're also only there for a short time. So it's sometimes depending on your personality type. If you take a while to warm up to people and environments, that can be really hard to really just hit the ground running with your new environments every time you change rotations. I think that was something that was hard for me. And I think the types of people who work in food service were kind of intimidating to me. At first. They're usually older people that have been there forever, and maybe people who are just really resistant to change and they're in their own ways. So I think that was hard for me to approach originally, but most of them are very nice and helpful. So that was good. Yeah, I agree. And they were also close knit, too, like, they're inside jokes, and they're just way of doing things. And they're all, like, best friends, like, a lot of them hung out, like, after work and did things together. They all knew each other's kids. So as an intern, it's just kind of the name of the game. But you feel like an odd man out sometimes or most of the time.
I was lucky to be kind of in contact with my primary preceptor, who was the clinical dietitian. And so I was able to kind of get her feedback about that, her experience with that. And she was able to kind of guide me and give me some advice as to how to make sure I was forming those relationships and gaining their respect and just having an overall good experience with that. I ended up transitioning pretty well into the clinical side of it the next semester because it was just at the same place. And I had the same preceptor who I already had a solid relationship with. So clinical was definitely my most challenging rotation. I feel like the hardest thing with that is it's really hard to gain experience in clinical prior to the dietic internship. So like I said, I think I've had a lot of food service experience and a lot of community experience. But I was very new to clinical and definitely took a while to settle into that role. I think I struggled a lot with medical terminology and understanding what different diseases were and different procedures were.
It was hard to know. I think they tell you you should ask questions. You should kind of rely on us if you aren't sure about something. But then, on the other hand, where to draw the line with that? Because they do want you to become more independent and not have to rely on them and look up what questions you have. Find the answers yourself. So that was hard for me. I think because I felt like one day I was able to ask them questions, and the next they're like, Stop asking me questions. That's hard.
Hannah:
Yeah, that's hard. And I feel like with clinical, too, another part that makes it so tricky is like and this is the case with even full time clinical dietitians, they have to know all the different diseases, and that gets easier as you do it every single day. But as a brand new intern, it's like, I have to know everything about everything and you don't you learn along the way. But it feels that way because you have patients with anything from, like, kidney disease to, I don't know, like a broken leg, I don't know. And so you have to know how to treat all those wide variety of diseases and disorders and things. And so that's just so overwhelming as a new intern.
Lydia:
Yeah, for sure. I actually made a YouTube video about my clinical rotation recently, and I talked a little bit about how challenging that was for me. And like I said earlier, I had to extend that rotation. I extended it once and that wasn't enough, and then I had to extend it again. So that was a whole extra month in that rotation. And so by the time I was done with clinical, everybody else in the program was done with engagement pretty much. So that was a huge mind game for me, just trying to get through that. It was just something where I felt supported by the program director, but not necessarily my preceptor. And my preceptor was the one who was seeing me every day and seeing how I was doing. But she didn't have very tangible feedback for me on a lot of things. So I was struggling to find ways to improve and just not feeling like I was getting any better at certain things, but not really sure how to get there. So yeah, that was really challenging. And I think finally, by the time I added a month on and completed that extra month, I was doing better with it. But just a lot that you don't know, you'll have to do.
Emily:
And it's hard to know what to expect in that rotation for sure. So that was definitely challenging. Like, our undergrad experience is so much of doing case studies every weekend. We're focusing so much on this one disease day. But when you're thrown into a hospital, they don't just have one disease. They have, like, at least three to five. Sometimes I had one. I counted they had, like, 25 chronic conditions, and it's just so much like it's very fast paced. You have to see X amount of patients every day. And then you also have to make time for going over your notes with your preceptor. And it can definitely be very overwhelming. I felt like Purdue challenged us academically, like, Purdue is a great educational base, but I don't know. It's so different when you're actually in the rotation having to balance your time. Even if you're great at time management, you have to know what every single like you have to know everything that's going on with the patient. You have to be able to communicate with the other staff members to figure out what they might know. And then you also have to implement your interventions. And charting takes so long. There's so much going on that I definitely think there should be some type of clinical experience implemented into our undergraduate work somehow, because it is wildly different because with one case, you have hours to work on it, whereas you go into a hospital, you're seeing sometimes like eight to 15 patients a day and you have to know everything. I remember also my first couple of weeks. I would just spend so long looking up medications. And I was like, I feel like because we learn the generic name and then we learn the brand name and sometimes the hospitals use different ones and like, something as small as that would take up so much of my time. You also have to know, like, labs and all these other diseases and how they work together. And then there's just so much going on there is and you have to be on it every single day. And that was so mentally draining because you would have a full day of all that and then feel like you need to go home and study more because it was a hard day. Like, you really just don't have the stamina to get through it some days, but yeah, I don't know. It's one of a kind and you really never know you're going to get yeah.
Lydia:
Yeah, I do agree with your idea of them somehow, like, merging it into undergrad somehow. And also I think it's going to be even more important as they know the CPD. I have no idea how they're going to do this, but I feel like now they're going to require a master's as well, and it's going to be a part of the thing as well. You have to get along with your internship, probably for most programs. I feel like it'd be even more important, however, you can incorporate the learning requirements or whatever they call them, like into undergrad somehow. So you're not in school forever, just like, chunking it out into, like, specific parts. It could definitely be merged together better. I totally agree with you on that one. Yeah. And I was even thinking, too. I remember medical nutrition therapy, like the class was almost a year away from my actual medical nutrition therapy rotation. I think there was a lot that I had just forgotten, and it just took a while to get back into the groove of thinking that way. So even having, like, the MNT rotation be first or something so that it's more mind, I think, would help. And you wouldn't have to add anything into the curriculum to improve that. But I agree. Maybe some schools do that. I don't know if Benedictine did, Emily, but Purdue definitely doesn't, and I feel like that is a flaw so far. I forgot about that. It's so far between MNT, and then when you actually take or do that rotation, dictating was weird because we didn't do the same rotations at the same time. But in order to do some rotations, you had to do clinical first, like long term care and our nutrition clinic sports nutrition rotation. You had to do clinical first, but you could do like others before. It was kind of odd because we're all in different things at once, but definitely, I think clinical first. Granted, I can see the other side of the argument that you're closer to your RD exam so that knowledge will be more fresh.
Hannah:
That's a good point. I don't know what the best answer is. I think it depends on the person, honestly, just like their best way of learning and experiencing hands on things. I think that really is what it comes down to, but they obviously can't individualize every single internship for each person, unfortunately. Well, Lydia, you already gave us a couple of examples of what could be improved as we've just been discussing for the last few minutes here, actually. But is there anything else that you feel like you want to point out that might be able to be improved in internships going forward?
Lydia:
I would say maybe just more emphasis on the medical terminologies and pathophysiology of diseases, I think was something that I really struggled with. Like Emily was saying, I believe you really will focus on one disease for, like, a case study patient in class. But you don't really get to dive into how a patient might experience multiple diseases at once, and you maybe don't get into enough depth to really understand how a disease can impact someone's nutritional status. And so that's just a lot to think about when you actually have a patient with a million different diseases and how they might be dealing with their symptoms and everything else is just so many different things to think about at once. So I think if there would be a way to or even like a class or a support group for people dealing with struggles with medical terminology or the pathophysiology of diseases, I don't know. There needs to be some something else there to support students who are struggling with that. Yeah. I feel like a lot of people are almost we all know that we're struggling, but I feel like a lot of people I don't know if it's pride or if it's more of I feel like I need to know everything. So I'm not going to admit I don't know everything because talking to my past classmates now, it's been like almost eight months since our program ended. We're much more open and honest about our experiences. Like, wow, clinical is really hard half the time. You don't know what's going on. But during that time, it feels like you have to know everything. I think definitely the emphasis. I like how you said that we should emphasize that you can ask more questions, but also more emphasis that it's okay if you don't know everything. I know. People have told us that at some point they have told us that, but just really emphasizing that and, like connecting us with each other more, I guess, to really support each other because it is a tough time to go through. And especially if you don't feel like you can ask anyone anything, it's not going to be a pleasant experience. I think if you get back into a corner where you feel like you can't speak up, you feel like there's a lot of pressure to be perfect and know everything. And, oh, it's so late in the rotation. I should know this by now. I should be doing this better by now, having all these opinions and restrictions put on you as far as, like, time goes or expectations from your preceptor or maybe your director, I think just know that a lot of people do struggle with the internship, and that might be staying super late one day or dealing with some really negative feedback from a preceptor or another staff member. Whether that's, like a nurse or a physician, there are going to be really hard days, and you should be able to talk to someone about it. But there were definitely times when I would ask a question and then feel really backed into a corner and gained up on by the people who I was looking to for advice. And so that was a very uncomfortable situation. And I definitely felt like there wasn't anybody I could really talk to. And then even if I did, what could anybody else really do about it? Like, at that point, I was close to well, I thought I was close to the end of my rotation. Little did I know, but at that point, what could they do? Were they going to switch me to somewhere else? I don't know if they're maybe that was part of the whole covered mindset, too, like they tried so hard to get me into this one spot. Like, is there even a backup plan? Could I go anywhere else? Is there something else that I could do? Just a whole lot of questions in my mind that I used to talk myself out of, even speaking up about the uncomfortable situations that I was in and my mental health and the whole process was really struggling. So you just never really know until you ask. And so I think that's why it's so important to realize that at least your program director really should be on your side. And that whole situation and preceptors are there to provide guidance. But I think that they deal with their own set of obstacles and time restraints, and they're not being paid any extra to teach you. And I think that that can be really challenging for them and maybe make them not want to. They may not want to give you the extra time in their day some days, so that can be really challenging. But it really stinks that you have that experience with some of the dietitians because they were interns once, too, like they were in your same shoes. And I don't know, an intern that hasn't struggled through the internship in some way or another. And so that's just crazy to me. It doesn't sound like the same exact experience with the staff, but I know exactly what you mean. They're kind of like standoffish at some point, and they just looked down at you sometimes. And you are also an intern once. And also, I'll say this, too, like being employed for over a year now as a dietitian and working alongside a bunch of other dietitians in the field. We're all just faking it till we make it. No one really is that much better than anyone else. That attitude towards interns or really any coworker in general. It's just such a bad thing because no one knows at all. No one is any better of a provider than anyone else. And so that just grinds my gears. It stinks that you had to go through all that because that's just unnecessary because they were also interns at one point, too. So that stinks. Yeah. Plus, this is the future of Dietetics, right? We want to support them, or we should want to support them.
Lydia:
Yeah. I feel like it's just such a competitive field. Truly. I don't think I realized that until going into the internship, but I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that it's mostly women, and sometimes the attitudes can come out in that. And I don't know, maybe I think of it that way because I've never had sisters, so I don't know how to work with a lot of women sometimes. But I think that that was sometimes challenging for me because there would be moments where I'm like, this doesn't have to be some dramatic thing like, can we just have the answer or can I please have just a little bit of help and then I can move on.
Emily:
Yeah. I was going to say I had the luxury of actually working with, like, 14 to 15 different dietitians during my clinical because I was at this huge hospital. So I had one preceptor, but I had different supervisors every week, and it definitely is very stressful. One one week, I'd have a super enthusiastic supervisor, and they would be providing me with all this really great feedback and be very patient with me. And then the next week, I'd go to another one and the interns kind of talk. So like, you knew who was more of a tough critic and you'd go to them and you'd feel much more almost like hesitant to ask them questions. And it might be about something that really interests you. But if they're all kind of stand off ish, then that can be very discouraging. I'm like, that's not right.
Lydia:
I don't know how many dietitians were working at your guys' clinicals, but that was something that was nice for me because I was able to work with so many different people that I wasn't working with the same ones where I know some of my friends there were only, like, three or four dietitians there, so they didn't really have as much exposure to different styles of clinical Dietetics and different people because you kind of have to learn what they like and seeing their notes and trying to figure them out.
Hannah:
That's such a good point. So many memories are coming to my brain because of this conversation we're having. It's good and bad, I'd say. But yeah, it totally depends on who you are with, too. That's such a good point. I forgot about all that that made a big impact on your day in general. And just like your approach that day and how you chart it and that kind of stinks, too. I wish there was a better way to make that more uniform, but I know that's just every single dietician so different in how they do their job and also act as a mentor for interns, too.
Lydia:
Yeah. That's another thing that I would say. I think because they're all volunteering to be preceptors. I think it's hard to enforce any type of structure as to how you should treat interns or how interns should be reporting situations. If there is anything like that happening, it's just hard because I don't think that anybody in the situation is getting the support that they might need. There's just a lot of things to be desired in the dietary internship. With that, I'd say, yeah, it's a good way to put it to things to be desired. They should almost be like, there's expectations that for us interns going in, there should be expectations for the preceptors. You have to be willing to go a little bit extra, like, the extra mile for your interns because they're going to struggle, and that's okay. And they need to know that you have their back. Otherwise they probably won't get as much out of it as they ideally should. Yeah. And I think I would have enjoyed clinical a little bit more, but it was just really hard to feel like I was good at it because there was no positive feedback. And no, I don't know, even when I was having a good day or, like, positive feedback from a patient or something, the dietitian that I was working with was like, oh, well, I don't really care about that. So I don't know. It was just kind of a negative environment. I would say that just kind of felt never ending with having everything extended once, having it extended twice. I would be like, okay, I can do this only a week left, and then I'd get it extended again. Okay. I can do this. I would be like, so ready to be done, counting down the days and get everything added on again. I was just like, I need to be done eventually. I'll be done. But it was hard, so hard.
Emily:
We've kind of discussed how these different improvements we talked about can help in the long run in terms of dietetics education and us becoming dietitians. I guess. Like, Lydia, if you have any thoughts that we haven't already discussed with, how you can see kind of if these changes were to happen and create a more positive environment for interns that's more uplifting and encouraging.
Lydia:
I think that the satisfaction would be so much higher and the roles that dietitians end up taking, because I think the Dietetic internship can be such a pivotal year for Dietetic students to really identify what their true passions are and where their talents are. And I think if they don't have the encouragement in the nurturing environment that they really need, I think that can really turn them off in an environment that they maybe would have been really great at had it not been for one person or one experience that just could have been a little bit better or that they could have been more prepared for a lot that we should be able to talk about. And I think it's definitely easier now. Like you said, I'm looking back you can talk about these things. And I think that's kind of why I've made the videos that I have on my YouTube channel. And you guys are doing this. I think there's so many things that should be talked about, and I think that that's the first step towards making the improvements. And I think hopefully that will give people some hope, even if they're in the middle of a tough rotation, or if maybe they're considering not becoming a dietitian anymore because of a bad situation, if they can connect with other dietitians or other Dietetic students who are feeling something similar. I think that can provide some hope, but yeah, there's definitely a long way to go with Dietetics as a profession. It's still pretty new, and I think that a lot of directors and preceptors are doing the best that they can with what they're given. But I think we all need to be more supportive and maybe a little bit less competitive sometimes, for sure.
Emily:
Yeah. I like everything you said to support all of that.
Hannah:
Okay. Well, I think that's really the bulk of our big questions for you. So we like to ask our guests as well to kind of sum up what the bulk of the conversation was today. So if you could put it into words, what would you say is like the final verdict or statement to kind of sum up the episode today.
Lydia:
I had something written out, but I feel like the way that it went. I've kind of evolved my statement. I would say the dietary internship, you'll learn a lot, and it's very challenging. But even when you're in a tough situation, just know that you're not alone. And if other dietitians have done it, you can do it, too. And there is a lot at the end of the tunnel, even if you can't see it, sometimes I totally agree it gets way better.
Hannah:
Like I said, I feel like I've blacked out from my internship. I was not having these memories until today when we're talking about this. I'm like, oh, yeah. I forgot about all those different things. So I've been like a year and a half, and I already feel like it was forever ago. Yeah, but yes, the light is very bright at the end of the tunnel. I just got to get there.
Emily:
Yeah. Cool. So since we had a very constructive conversation, we can kind of now have or I guess go to the fun part of our episode where we get to debate kind of little debate. So we always like to have our guest go first. But today or this episode's debate question is which is better, the edge or inside brownie pieces. And Lydia, you can start us off.
Lydia:
Okay. This is hard. I would have to say the inside of a brownie, because, no, I don't know. It's just up to your preference. But, you know, like, the brownie batter hummus. That stuff is so good. I don't know. I just like stuff that's more like gooey, and I'm always going to be that person that eats the batter no matter what it is. I love that part of it. So I'd say, like, if you can preserve some of that through the baking process even better
Hannah:
I am on the exact same page as you. I like it to be more gooey than, like, crusty and crunchy. I mean, that's good. If I get served in Edge brownie piece, I'm obviously going to eat it. But I also like the inside where it's so gooey still, if it's cooked right. And it's just like, melty if it's warm, so good. I totally agree with you. Emily?
Emily?
I'm going to be the odd man out. I love edge pieces because I really like crunch whenever I'm eating. I will also eat an inside piece of a brownie, like, there's no such thing as any component of a brownie that is bad. Yeah, but I really like corners a lot because they're extra crispy. And I love pairing them with ice cream. So you get the crunch from the brownie and then the soft creaminess from the ice cream.
Hannah:
Emily, do you, like chewy or crunchy cookies?
Emily::
I like chewy cookies. I hate crunchy cookies because they get your safe. They do. I will eat a crunchy cookie, but the ones that are, like, brittle and break it. What do I do with that? Or, like, you have to be all at once or else you're making a mess.
Lydia:
Have you guys tried crumble yet?
Emily:
I have not crumble cookies.
Hannah
Is there, like, a place? What is it? What is this? I need to know all about it. Tell me everything.
Lydia:
It's like a cookie chain. And the cookies are probably the size of my hand, and they come out with new flavors every week. They have their classics, like the Chocolate Chunk and maybe like a sugar cookie. I don't know, but they're so good because they're like cake in cookie form. Almost so. It's, like, nice and crispy on the outside, but like, thick and risen, almost like on the inside and so soft. I don't know. People ask me if they're over hyped, and I'd say no. I think they're actually worth it. And the different flavors every week really get you. They pull you back in.
Hannah:
So do they have, like, storefronts or do you get them online?
Lydia:
Well, yeah, they have storefronts, but you can do, like, the order on your phone and go and pick them up. I don't know if you can get them delivered, but they're really good, fresh. So I don't know if you would want to get them delivered, but new flavors every week, they always get me. I've been like, probably seven times this year already. Like, at least once a month.
Emily:
What is your favorite flavor from them so far?
Lydia:
Anything that's been peanut butter cookie, I'd say, has been so good. I don't know. It's probably the best peanut butter cookie I've ever had. And that's saying a lot, because I usually do, like, homemade things more, but they've been so good every time, like, never disappointing.
Hannah:
Would you compare them to Insomnia or not even, like, the same category? Have you ever had Insomnia?
Lydia:
Yes. Okay. Insomnia. They were really good, but I don't know. These are just so much better because there's, like, art that goes into it and it's not overdone. It's not like, oh, these look better than they are. They taste just as good as they look, and they look just as good as they taste.
Hannah:
Oh, I am so intrigued. Okay. I love insomnia, so I'm sure I would like these even more than based on that description.
Emily:
Yeah. I'm glad you said that, because I was also having the mindset that I'm like. These things have to be, like, overrated. I was like, I'm not going to get it. It's probably not worth it. But since you said it was worth it, now, I'm going to go out of my way and buy one.
Lydia:
I think they're worth it. You should definitely try it. Peanut butter if you like peanut butter, go for that if you can. It's really good.
Hannah:
I must have been, like, under a rock or something. I have not even heard of that.
Lydia;
I was going to say, I feel like you always are on top of the food trend.
Hannah:
I know I'm ashamed of myself right now. It's like my thing. Darn, let's get into it. All right, Lydia. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I feel like this will be a really great episode for especially incoming interns I feel like or others who have had similar experiences just to know that they weren't the only ones feeling that way because, like we've said a million times already today's episode, we don't really talk about it very much when you're in your internship. So I think that'll be really helpful for listeners to know that it is definitely not a unique experience to feel those feelings just overwhelm and maybe even feeling a little insecure. That kind of stuff. So thank you so much for sharing all that with us.
Lydia:
Of course, I'm hopeful that it reaches the right people and that they get through it like we did.
Hannah:
Yeah, well, we will put a link to everything you'd like us to in our bio, so listeners you can find all of Lydia's information there. But, Lydia, where can our listeners find you? Where's the best place to check you out?
Lydia:
So I have an Instagram. You can find me at SmileyStomach or on Facebook at SmileyStomach, but I also have a YouTube page. I'm not Smiley stomach on YouTube. I'm just Lydia Connor, but that's linked in my Instagram bio somewhere, so can always find everything from the other cool.
Emily:
That'll be perfect. And we could also link your clinical rotation video as well. If anyone would like to see that if they don't want to navigate YouTube.
Lydia:
Yeah, I was going to see if I could add the whole series as a link, but I don't know if you can, but it's like on YouTube, you can put everything in, like, a group. I have that as a series on there, but I don't know how to link it, so we'll play around with it and see what we can do.
Emily:
Cool. Well, I think that's a good end to this episode. We hope you guys, as we mentioned, took away something from this and we are excited to have you guys back on another episode and you might see more of Lydia in our future. All right. Have a great rest of your day and we will see you next time.
Hannah:
Yes, you nailed it this time. Nice job. All right. Bye, everyone.
