This is Inez Jans’ day. She specializes in kidney diseases and works at the Gelderse Vallei Hospital in Ede. In this hospital, nutrition, exercise and sleep are the building blocks of care. Inez works in the kidney care outpatient clinic and dialysis department. She is also part of the nutrition team, works within the Nutrition in Healthcare Alliance together with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and has been involved with the DNN (Dietitians Kidney Diseases Netherlands) for many years.
My working day started…
By turning on the computer and getting a cup of coffee.
My workplace is…
Alternately, depending on my agenda. Our offices are in the basement of the hospital. The kidney care and home dialysis consultations take place at the outpatient clinic, where the patient is seen in a carousel by the nephrologist, the kidney care nurse and by me or one of my 2 colleagues who also specialize in kidney disease. We speak to dialysis patients during their dialysis treatment. Occasionally I also have a day working from home, where the work telephone is diverted. On such a work-from-home day I can work quietly, but I do miss the fun.
My agenda for this day consists of…
A full programme. I start by preparing for the consultation hour and a preliminary discussion with the kidney care team. In between consultation appointments, I visit a few patients in the dialysis department to check their blood results. We evaluate protein intake, among other things, on the basis of the calculated “protein catabolic rate” and the serum potassium and serum phosphate values. During the day I also do a few double checks: within our team we have agreed that schedules for tube feeding and parenteral nutrition are always checked by a colleague. At 12 noon, all colleagues come together, both colleagues present in the hospital and colleagues who work at home via Teams. For us, this is a time to catch up and check whether anyone needs help that day. After lunch I first prepare the multidisciplinary meeting for the next day. Then I have a short online consultation with my colleague Angélique van Empel, dietician in Bernhoven (Uden). We have been together in the DNN guidelines working group for a long time. Our last joint project was writing the dietary treatment guideline for chronic kidney damage for 2010 Publishers. We checked the last proof and still discovered a few errors. We are both happy that we can now complete this intensive process. Because I am a “key user” for the electronic patient file (EPD) for the dietetics department and we have been working with a new EPD since this year, I will then take some time to adjust a few protocols about this. Then there is patient care again; I discuss the results of an MF-BIA (Multi-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) of a patient that I have assessed with the physician assistant of the dialysis department. We look at both fluid balance and body composition. The afternoon ends with answering a number of emails, including to Nefrovisie about the new standard for dietetics, part of the Standards Document for Visitation of Dialysis Centers. Then I quickly eat a snack and continue to the family evening for dialysis and kidney care patients. This year’s theme is “Together in motion” and Olga Commandeur will be present this evening as a guest speaker. Together with my colleagues we will give an interactive presentation about the role of protein in relation to exercise.
The fun/challenging thing about my work is…
Especially the variety. In addition to patient contact, I also get satisfaction from other tasks, such as guiding Nutrition and Health (WUR) or Nutrition and Dietetics students, keeping the Kidney Care Patient Information Map up-to-date and, in the past, helping to think about making of the animations about Aart and Annie and the projects within the Nutrition in Healthcare Alliance. And don’t forget the work for the DNN; the many contacts with colleagues outside your own workplace are very valuable.
Today I was surprised by…
Olga Commander. What a professional! I thought it was very special to see how she got almost everyone in the room – from young to old – moving with enormous enthusiasm and humor during the family evening.
Looking back on this day…
I realize that it was a long, but above all fun day. It remains a cliché, but time flies by during my work. I suddenly realize that it is almost time to approach the disciplines involved for their contributions to our annual Christmas booklet for our kidney care and dialysis patients.
Participate?
Would you also like to participate in the section “The Day of the Dietitian”? Nice! Send an email to info@nieuwsvoordietisten.nl and we will send you the submission instructions.
