A Plug for the DC Conference

This year I had the privilege of attending the Dietitians of Canada National Conference in Toronto. It’s a privilege because I know dietitians who haven’t had the opportunity to attend…and yet here I was, a third year dietetics student, getting to experience such a great event.

It truly was an amazing experience—I left the conference feeling inspired and ready to take on the world of dietetics. I came back home and immediately called my fellow dietetic students to sell them (hypothetical) tickets to next year’s conference in Victoria. As I reflect on my experience, I think all students should have the opportunity to attend this type of event. This is because it gives you a chance to discover what’s actually out there in the real world, and not just the fields you’re taught in university. In school we’re told we have to pick between clinical, community, or administrative dietetics—but in reality we don’t have to…we can create our own pathways in this field. The beauty of this profession is that it allows us to explore our personal skill set and passions and match them to something in dietetics, whether that be media dietetics or even politics. Fellow delegates at the conference treat you as a colleague and not as a student. They will tell you all about where they work and what they love about their job.

As mentioned above, I left the conference after three full days of networking feeling enthusiastic about dietetics. I want to make a difference in this profession, but I know it would be so easy to graduate, land my first job and stop there. However, there’s so much I could do to actually make an impact, and I’m so grateful to have learned this lesson.

So what are my next steps?

Well, thanks to the information I learned in the session Film 101, I’m going to start creating little films based on my food blog. I’m also going to start job shadowing as many dietitians as possible to learn about the variety of fields in which Canadian RDs work.

Lastly, thank you DEN for sponsoring me and allowing me to attend this conference - see you next year in Victoria!

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