Wow, Just WOW! or "They Really Like Me"

As a reservist I'm not usually considered part of the flight. I show up a couple time a year, see patients or work on projects. Usually eat meals alone. Go back home or the lodging at night. Sometimes I do something social with the flight but I don't really know people that well. This time I noticed that something was different. From the first day the Nutritional Medicine Flight at Malcolm Grow Medical Center made me feel welcome, part of the team, a member of the family. When I was here at work, I didn't feel like a temporary employee, I felt like I was a full time member of the flight.









I had the pleasure of working with some very dedicated, enthusiastic diet techs who helped me leave a lasting contribution to the capital region. In less than eight weeks togther we got the clinic fully functioning (certifying a new tech to provide group classes and basic individual nutrition education in less than one month; considered record time in this career field), revised five group classes (two of them are now more effective six week programs), saw over 400 patients. In addition, I was part of the strategic planning team for our career field, a member of the medical nutrition therapy working group (so I've revamped 2 diet tech training modules and 4 diet tech clinical guidelines), created a dozen documentation templates utilizing the nutrition care process protocol, and help the population health team get their diabetes initiative off the ground.

Hey! This isn't our flight meeting!

I've never been given a goodbye party before. When I transfered my unit of assignment from Nellis to Travis, no one realized I was gone except the flight commander since he signed my paperwork. Despite five years at Nellis there was nothing to mark my leaving. When I put on Major (which is a big deal in the military) there was no pinning ceremony, no congratulations from a commander. Just a "go ahead and sew it on" and then when I showed up at Travis for the first time with the oak leaf it was "oh, you're a Major now. Nice." After three years at Travis the Reserve office decided they shouldn't have to pay for me to travel so far when there was a perfectly good military facility in my home town. So I was transfered back to Nellis. My last day at Travis was a 'tag-on' to someone else's last day party.....until the Squadron Commander pulled me aside privately and awarded me her Commander's Coin (Col McCann - thank you!).

Here at Andrews my job was only for 53 days (36 if you only count duty days). To hear the flight members talking it was like I'd been here with them for over a year. I was getting teary giving my thanks. But when one after the other got up to say something, I was flabbergasted. And to give me salutes? WOW! I really felt part of the 779th MDSS/SGSN Team all the way.

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve with you. It's been a pleasure and an honor. The people you feed and care for are in good hands. I'll always consider myself an honorary member of Team Andrews, the Face of Air Force Medicine.

Back to the Workouts and Making the Clubhouse Turn

The past two days I've been involved in an AF Dietetics Strategic Planning Video Conference. It was hosted in the Central time zone so we'd finish at 5:30p and then I still had some local stuff to do back in my office. By the time I was done it really was too late for me to go to the gym (not if I wanted dinner before 8p).

Today I'm back on schedule and got to the Fitness Center tonight for a modified version of "Eva". My WOD was 3 laps around the gym (~500m), 15 kettlebells (25#) and 15 pullups (blue band) x 5 sets. I started out pretty strong (got the first 3 sets done in 15min) but I stopped after set #4 to help a new person with kipping pullups so didn't finish the workout until 32min. I have the feeling it's going to be a little difficult to lift my arms tomorrow. But I love the "tired after a good workout" feeling.

Got my plane ticket for the trip home. Can't believe that it's getting that close now. Sort of like a horse going around the clubhouse turn. So much left to do for the flight and really only two working weeks left (cause next week is so short). Every day coming up is full of outpatient appointments so project time is going to be tight. Guess there will be some "homework" over Thanksgiving.

Clean Computer! And a Day at Work.

$200 and I get my computer back with a clean bill of health Monday night. Thank you Best Buy. (I still want to shoot the a$$wipes who created that Malware).

Keeping busy at work. Seeing lots of outpatients (diabetes, hypertension, gastric bypass patients are the most common). Getting materials ready for the Retirement Appreciation Day on Saturday (Med Group Health Fair will be in the morning). I am blessed with a couple of active, motivated airmen working in the Nutrition Clinic - such a wonderful breath of fresh air to have self directed diet techs. Just SrA but if I went back to Iraq I would want these two working with me.

Today was a little different with revising the diabetes class slide shows and a couple of non-typical outpatients; gastric reflux in the morning and lactose intolerance (possible Celiac) in the afternoon. I also created a "Safe Food Handling for Thanksgiving" pamphlet.

Getting ready for PT (for me every Tuesday at 3:30p) when I got a call from the ICU with an MD consult for diet education. The patient wasn't going home tonight but this doctor said "patient care takes precedence". While I could have visited either after the workout or tomorrow around lunch time....I just said "Yes ma'am" and gathered materials to bring up to the unit. After that I set up my stuff for tomorrow's outpatients and it was about 6p before I got to the gym.

CrossFit WODs
Monday: 3 rounds - 200m run, 6 Deadlifts/5 Hang Power Clean/4 Front Squats/3 Push Jerk 65# barbell (7:45)

Tuesday: "Angie" broken up. 100 pullups (62 using blue band, 38 jumping) in 9:19. 5 min "rest" (I walked one lap around the gym). 100 pushups (as prescribed, straight legs) in 7:45. 5 min "rest". 100 CF situps in 5:14. 5 min "rest". 100 air squats in 4:00.

Tomorrow will be a rest day (and I'm expecting another long day at work).

One nice thing this month is my husband's work schedule. He's on day shift which means he's at home when I get online so we can webcam and chat. The bad thing is my TV schedule is 3 hours ahead (unless we're watching a sports event). Once a week we watch Poker (WSOP) on ESPN at the same time and share comments. The rest of the week I have to keep quiet about our favorite shows (which include Survivor, Amazing Race, Heroes, The Big Bang Theory) until the next day when he has "caught up".

Happy Halloween

I wanted to be something scary this year.


I figured Swine Flu was a good bet.


Here are a few more around the hospital today.

Working Space

We'll start at the back dock, entry into the basement of the hospital where the Nutritional Medicine Flight is located.




Walk down the hallway and around the corner to elevators (who takes elevators for just one flight) and go up the stairs near the main hospital entrance.

Then follow one of the many "bowling alley" hallways inside Malcolm Grow Medical Center. It's about 150 steps to the other side where the outpatient Nutrition Clinic can be found.

And we're here! This is my primary working location for the next two months.