Stephanie R. Send, MS, RDN

Thesis entitled "The Impact of a Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Ketogenic Diet on Seizure Severity, Seizure Frequency, and Quality of Life in Patients with Epilepsy”

Study Abroad Program: International Food Laws in the European Union, Summer 2013

Clinical Experience

• Provided medical nutrition therapy to 15-20 patients daily in the general neurology and neurosurgical intensive care units during a four-week staff relief rotation.
• Attended and contributed to multidisciplinary rounds each morning during staff relief rotation.
• Enhanced outpatient counseling and motivational interviewing skills with a diverse patient population including bariatric patients, bone marrow transplant patients, and food allergy patients.
• Gained experience writing daily parenteral nutrition prescriptions for seven weeks during critical care and staff relief rotations.
• Completed 31 weeks of inpatient care, utilizing the nutrition care process with general medicine, gastrointestinal, diabetic, cardiovascular, geriatric, pediatric, neonate, neurology, renal, oncology, and critical care patients.

Management and Research Experience

• Completed a 100-hour management project which determined the feasibility of nursing performing physical assessments on patients.
• Submitted an abstract which was accepted as a poster presentation for ASPEN Clinical Nutrition Week 2016, titled "Agreement Between RD and RN Assessment of Functional Status".
• Conducted epidemiological research using NHANES data on differences in micronutrient status between women actively and not actively taking oral contraceptives.
• Presented seminar research on antibiotic resistance in the food supply and its effect on human health and nutrition.

 Community Experience

• Attended a one-week overnight camp for teens with Type 1 Diabetes, providing nutrition education and assisting with insulin dosing and carbohydrate counting.
  
• Engaged in various nutrition educational sessions within the diverse community of Chicago, including Head Start, senior centers, and women's rehabilitation centers.

Foodservice Experience

• Completed 200+ hours during foodservice management in the areas of patient meal services and retail services.
• Strengthened management skills such as financial analysis and quality improvement.
  

• Analysis of quarterly menu cycles ensuring nutritional adequacy and state regulations.
• Provide dietary recommendations to enhance menu quality and increase customer satisfaction.
  

• Responsible for the input of 400-600 patient meal selections into CBORD database each shift.
• Modify patient meals based upon specific dietary restrictions and nutritional concerns.
  

• Monitored influences of key nutrition opinion leaders in the media realm and their impact on client image.
• Conducted quality improvement projects such as SWOT and risk analyses.

• Courses taught included: Community Nutrition, Basic Skills in Dietetic Practice, and Food and Nutrition Service Management.
• Conducted weekly recitation sessions and office hours, created lecture materials and quizzes, maintained course website, graded assignments.

• Collaborated with peers to publish multiple articles related to misconceptions of diet practices.
• Conducted evidence-based research in order to validate articles before publication.

Providing bi-monthly nutrition presentations to groups of men and women who are currently enrolled in an inpatient substance abuse detoxification and recovery program. 

Presented multiple cooking demonstrations featuring fall inspired dishes for cancer survivors and their family members.