Nutritionists MARIA RENEE MOLINA, KATIA LUNA, and KAREN SCHLOSSER, during a training at Kendall Regional Medical Center. |
Latin American nutritionists train in Miami
By Alfredo Arango
Medical Editor
To study the challenges faced in a patient’s nutrition and the way they are solved in the United States are the main objectives of a new training program for Latin American clinical nutritionists. This program, created by Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the biggest hospital corporation in the world, is carried out at several of the corporation’s hospitals in Miami. Physicians from various countries often come to these hospitals for rotations, and now the first group of intern dietitians has come from Guatemala.
“We just completed our clinical nutrition degree at the Nutrition School of Francisco Marroquín University. Over the past year and a half we have been rotating through different hospitals in Guatemala, at public hospitals and at the Seguro Social; and now we have the opportunity to come to Miami to rotate through the various HCA hospitals,” said Katia Luna, a nutritionist.
Her colleague, Karen Schlosser, said that the observations made at the Aventura, Cedars and Kendall Regional hospitals have provided them with new knowledge that they hope to be able to apply once they return to their country. “This experience supplies me with useful information to enhance my previous knowledge. One example is the great amount of resources they have here,” she added.
Another nutritionist, María Renee Molina, explained that some of those resources have to do with the wide variety of “enteral formulas” which are specific for certain diseases. These formulas provide complete nutrition and they are designed according to the need of each patient. “In Guatemala we don’t have such a wide array,” she said.
Concerning the usefulness of the knowledge applied to an environment in which the budget is probably insufficient for obtaining the resources available in the United States, the nutritionists explained that getting to know them well is the first step toward using them in their country in the future.
“We can analyze the composition of all these products, determine, for example, if they are higher in protein or carbohydrates; and see if they can be formulated in Guatemala some other way, perhaps modifying existing formulas. It is important to be acquainted with all the products that are available on the market,” Luna emphasized.
Dietitian VANESA MARTINEZ with nutritionists MOLINA, SCHLOSSER, and LUNA. |
Vanesa Martínez, head dietitian at Kendall Regional Hospital, added that the interns also contributed interesting and useful information for the United States, particularly in the area of pediatric nutritional management. “It’s a learning process that works both ways.”
The Latin American nutritionists were especially interested in the use of computers in the management of nutrition plans for hospitalized patients; as well as for managing the problem of obesity, which is so prevalent in the United States.
“Here there are more clinics and programs for obesity. It is interesting to see the methodology that is being used to try to correct an existing problem. This is important for us, because in Guatemala we are beginning to see quite a few cases of obesity. The problem we face is no longer just malnutrition, but also improper nutrition and obesity, particularly in the capital city,” the nutritionists affirmed.
The nutritionists pointed out that in Guatemala City there are segments of the population that follow American eating habits and fad diets, and that in general they can develop the same characteristics of patients in developed countries.
The director of International Services at Kendall Regional Hospital, Dr. Manuel Mantecon, who is in charge of this program, stated that the possibility of observing is also useful for showing the Latin American nutritionists the high level of quality assurance and the strict regulations in place in the United States, thus ensuring optimal nutrition for the patients.
Dr. Mantecon added that upon completing the rotation, the participants are given a certificate indicating the number of observation hours and the hospitals in the United States where the observation took place.
“This has been a very pleasant experience; we’ve learned a lot, and as we leave we are very grateful to Dr. Mantecon, who has made this possible and has treated us very well,” the nutritionists added.
For more information, call 1-888-256-7719 or 305-222-6750; write to kendallinternationalcenter@hcahealthcare.com; or visit www.kendallmed.com
