The start of a new adventure

Hello All! My name is Melinda Boyd. I just spent the past 5 years living in Las Vegas, working as a dietitian. More specifically, I spent about 4 years as an outpatient dietitian, and then another half year or so as an inpatient dietitian. When I moved to Vegas I had just completed my dietetic internship and was very ready to get my first real job. That was not as easy as I expected, but I certainly did not give up. I actually started waiting tables at a nearby Olive Garden until I was able to take my registration exam, which in turn made it possible for me to get my first job. Vegas is a different kind of place to live. All the bright lights, all the action. One can easily get lost in the over-the-top lifestyle. Lucky for me, I met great friends at my job and was able to make the transition to a new town and new career easily.

So about my work as a dietitian. I did start out as an outpatient dietitian. I loved that i got to do something different each day. A little diabetes education here, some heart healthy educations there, and a lot of weight loss counseling. Oh, and I was also doing staff relief, which meant on certains days of the week I was covering for a dietitian that had the day off. this gave me even more variety. Some days it was trauma, some days it was oncology, some days rehab. I even gained experience in pediatrics. I taught diabetes classes, gave presentations around town and set up booths at health fairs. Overall, I would say I was very lucky with position and was able to reach more people with the community outreach I was able to provide.

But things happen, and I switched to an inpatient dietitian. It was an easy transition for me since I had been doing their staff relief for so long. Our pediatric dietitian then deployed to Iraq, so I was regularly covering the children's hospital. This, and the cardiovascular thoracic unit were my most recent units.

While all this was going on I found time to complete a certificate of training in adult weight management, receive a MPH degree from UNLV, teach undergrad nutrition at UNLV and start teaching at Kaplan University online. All of these were great experiences and I wouldn't change any of it. I had a blast living and working in Vegas.

Ah, so this brings me to the present. Let me duck back into the past for just one moment here. I did also meet someone in Vegas. I know, I know, I met someone in Vegas of all places. Well, when you live there, I don't see it really happening any other way. I met a great guy in the Air Force (Nellis Air Force base is in North Las Vegas), and we were married a few months ago.

So, now to the present. We just relocated to the Azores. This is a small group of 9 islands about 900 miles of the coast of Lisbon. The islands are in fact Portugese. So far, so good. Life is much different here. Things move at a slower pace, foods look different, foods taste different, and most importantly, there is no hospital here in which I can work as a dietitian.

So, what to do now that I am "floating" in the Atlantic. Well, for starters, I am still teaching for Kaplan University online. I love it. The support I receive from my departments is amazing and the students are wonderful. I teach 2 sections of medical terminology and one section of nutrition each term. this keeps me busy enough but still allows for me to be on a vacation. I am lucky to have found this position as my husband's job can take us anywhere. Glad I can take Kaplan anywhere too.

Next up, I plan to keep up with this blog, chat with family and friends, and get a chance to travel. So, with that I say welcome to my blog. I hope to share up to date nutrition and public health information, along with tidbits on food and travel. I hope you enjoy and please give me feedback and leave comments. Greetings from an American dietitian in the Azores!