Lily LichtensteinSwain

I've kind of always been very driven. I also like having a lot of things all at the same time - that's kind of how I manage all of the things. You don't have time to procrastinate if you fill your schedule. I think, you know, definitely some of the athlete background helped. I grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, Mount Desert Island, which was very beautiful, but I also wanted to get out. So I think I was very motivated to go make something for myself off-island.

Be a sponge. Don't be afraid to tell people no. Trust your training. You have so much more skills and knowledge, even though you're gonna feel like you don't. Imposter syndrome is so real, especially as a young dietitian. Like, the average person really doesn't know that much, and especially if you're working at an academic medical center, when you're speaking to a resident doctor, they don't know either. You're the expert. That's why people are asking you. So kind of reminding yourself of that. But at the same time, being up-to-date and knowing that things are always changing. As dietitians, we practice evidence-based care, and knowing the latest studies is super important too.

I think for the entire field of dietitians, the majority of us are overworked and underpaid, especially given the new master's requirement. You know, if we're performing master's degree level work and thought, then we should be financially compensated for that appropriately. And then I think, you know, a little bit of the tail end of COVID, and everyone being burned out and wanting to leave the hospital, so that's kind of always been a revolving door and having enough staffing. And then I think another challenge is that diet culture and wellness influencers spread a lot of misinformation about nutrition. So a lot of our job is also explaining not just the truth, but evidence-based, real science to people, not just what you see on Instagram - like, I'm thin, so it must work for you. It's not as simple as that.