Catherine Page reflects on her coursework and work experience developing strengths in core competencies related to nutrition education. She has created educational materials and programs for various populations using technologies like MyPyramid and Microsoft Office. However, she feels she needs more experience evaluating programs, working with different age groups, using mass media for promotion, and consulting with food access organizations. Over the next three years, she aims to expand her skills in these areas through opportunities involving printed articles, social media, and local food pantries and kitchens.

1. Reflection Paper Catherine Page December 10, 2010
I feel my coursework and work experience has allowed me to develop
strengths in several core competencies. I have used current technologies
extensively (CD 6) for both research and development of nutrition projects. To
create my Advanced Instructional Plan for preschool nutrition, I used the
MyPyramid website to gather information. I have also used the Internet to collect
nutritional information for my patient care plans. I have used Microsoft products
to create presentations (Power Point), handouts (Word), and brochures
(Publisher) for a variety of educational materials (CD 11) for different target
populations. This fundamental experience helped me to create a community-
based food and nutrition program (CD 44 and CO 3) for a summer camp for girls
with diabetes, ages 7 to 17. I created all of the materials, presented the
information, and conducted the follow-up analysis to see how well my instruction
was being received by the staff and the campers. I repeated this process for
each two-week camp session over an entire 8-week program.
I have a good base knowledge in many core competencies, but feel I need
more experience. I have provided education in a supervised setting (CD 8) for
different audiences, including a food service staff training session. However, I
feel that I could use more hands-on experience to make this skill stronger.
Learning to evaluate my education programs (CD 15) is also an area I need to
develop. I need to make better use of my evaluations to improve my programs. I
saw this most in the summer camp program I developed.
I have covered many population groups in my nutrition care education (CD
42). However, I have only done a rudimentary coverage of adult groups (age
25-45) through a label reading for non-English speaking group and a “CHOICES”
education program. The “CHOICES” program helped expose me to a health
promotion/disease prevention program (CD 43). It was my first and only
exposure to this type of program, as it covered physical activity, eating low fat
and high fiber, food safety, and grocery shopping on a limited income. So, I
would like more experience presenting this type of nutrition education. I would
also like more experience with young children and the elderly.

2. Though I have a good base of core competencies, there are still areas that
I feel I do not have enough knowledge. My experience with the use of mass
media to promote food and nutrition (CD 12) is very limited. I have only
produced two articles, one for the Metro Daily West newspaper called “Metro
West Healthy Family Table” and one for a local paper regarding the changes in
the school lunch legislation. My experience taking scientific knowledge and
converting it into formats that different level audiences (CD 13) can understand is
also limited. I have created one low literacy handout, and a second handout that
intended to be translated into Spanish and Portuguese. I feel I need more
experience creating these types of documents. The nutrition fair at Framingham
State University allowed me the opportunity to present scientific knowledge to a
college-aged audience. However, it was only one opportunity and I need more
exposure.
The spring nutrition fair will provide me with introductory experience
screening clients (CD 40) for high blood pressure. This will be my only
experience doing this type of activity. Referring patient and clients to appropriate
community services and other primary care givers (CD 39) is something that I
need more experience with, as well. During the “CHOICES” program, I
distributed information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) to some of the attending adults. I also referred parents to their
pediatricians both during my summer camp experience and during the
presentation to parents of preschoolers. These were limited experiences and did
not provide me with enough background. Finally, I need more experience
consulting with organizations that help different populations access food (CO 7).
I have only been to the Hudson Food Pantry once and have never been to any
larger facility that provides food.
In the next three years, I will seek out opportunities to expand my abilities
related to the following areas: use of mass media to promote food and nutrition,
creating nutrition education materials that breakdown scientific knowledge for
different audiences, and working with organizations that provide food access to
target populations. I would like to improve my skills to create printed articles for

3. magazines and newspapers to promote healthy nutrition, especially to
adolescents. I am also interested in using social media, such as Facebook or
YouTube, to promote nutrition to younger audiences. Finally, I would like to get
more involved with my local food pantry and local food kitchen to help them help
their clients. They are on the front lines of preventing hunger, especially among
children, and that is where my passion is.