Testimonials from Former Trainees

What was the most useful part of your UW PPC training experience?

The most useful part of UW PPC training is the clinical experience that I gained. UW attracts many pediatric pulmonary patients not only because of its expertise in nutrition, but also because of the excellent teamwork among the doctors, nurses, and dietitians.

How has participating in the UW PPC training benefited you?

I benefited most from the well-planned curriculum, ranging from leadership to culture competency.

How has participating in the UW PPC training positively impacted your career?

When I practice nowadays, I always think back to the training I had with UW PPC. It helps me daily and also helps me as a leader in the area of pediatric nutrition. No doubt, my experience at UW PPC had a tremendous effect on me.

~ Tong (Toni) Law, MS - Nutrition

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What was the most useful part of your UW PPC training experience?

The mentorship that the PPC staff provided was extremely useful. Being able to easily ask questions and learn from the staff greatly aided in the learning process. Technically speaking, the learning contract was helpful to keep myself on track and make sure that I complete the competencies of the traineeship. Also, coming from a non-clinical background, the interdisciplinary course was an excellent introduction to the philosophy of care that the PPC embodies and laid the foundation for the issues and barriers to providing family-centered, interdisciplinary care for children with special healthcare needs.

How has participating in the UW PPC training benefited you?

Participating in the UW PPC training gave me the skills and self-efficacy to be a leader in public health and provide clinical nutrition care in a hospital setting (something I had not done prior to this experience). I was honestly very nervous to provide nutrition counseling, but with the great leadership and mentorship that the PPC provided the task is less daunting and I realized that I can do it and do it well. By the end of my traineeship I felt very confident to provide nutrition assessment and counseling and to learn from patients as much as they could learn from me.

How has participating in the UW PPC training positively impacted your career?

My future goals have been greatly shaped by this experience. Since participating as a nutrition trainee, I have applied to a dietetic internship that focuses on special needs and rural populations and have applied for a LEND fellowship (another MCH traineeship) that focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders. This traineeship has molded the direction to which I want my future to go. I want to focus my efforts in public health nutrition on children with special needs and rural health disparities. I want to advocate for better care and quality of life for those in need, which can be particularly challenging for rural populations; the PPC gave me this direction and I am so grateful! I am really excited to seek out a job that can fulfill these goals and to which I can apply the leadership skills I gained and make lasting improvements and impact for these populations.

~ Christina Servetas, MS, MPH - Nutrition

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What was the most useful part of your UW PPC training experience?

Participating in the PPC training helped me to understand all of the effort that is needed to provide family-centered care. I learned much about the services available (and sometimes, not available) to patients and families with special needs. The course has really helped me as an attending physician who continues to provide care for children with chronic lung disease.

How has participating in the UW PPC training positively impacted your career?

I gained a better perspective of what families encounter on a daily basis taking care of children with chronic disease. The course opened my eyes to a lot of the work that is done outside of the clinic and hospital and I gained a greater appreciation for the work that families do on a daily basis.

~ Jonathan Spahr, MD - Pediatric Pulmonology