Project 3 DOC[1]

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Current Web AnalysisTWC301: Project #3: Online Professional Identity

Victoria Burch

ABSTRACT

This report is an in depth analysis of my professional goals in becoming

a Registered Dietitian. Outlined are steps that need be taken to achieve

these goals in relation to my current status.

Photo by: Pink Sherbet Photography



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Table of Contents

Executive Summary....................................................................................................................3

Current Web Presence Analysis.......................................................................................

4Future Profession: ............................................................................................................... 4

Goals for the Future ...................................................................................................................... 4

Career Opportunities ................................................................................................................... 5

Registered Dietitians: At a Glance ............................................................................................ 6 Current RDs .............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Criteria I Might Use to Evaluate an RD: ...................................................................................................... 7

Current Online Identities................................................................................................... 7

Identity Findings ........................................................................................................................... 7

Fulfillment of my Digital Identity .................................................................................................................. 7

Bridging the Gap .................................................................................................................. 9

Strengths .................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Weaknesses .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Appendix A: Job Opportunities ..................................................................................... 10

Appendix B: Current RD LinkedIn Profiles ...................... .......................... ................ 10

Appendix C: Current Online Identities .......................... .......................... .................... 10

1. Correct Searches: ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .............. ............. .......... 10

2. False Searches: ............. ............. .............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. 10 3. E-mail Username Searches:.................... ............. ............. ............. ............. .............. .......... 10

Appendix D: Other ............................................................................................................ 10

Works Cited ........................................................................................................................ 11



Executive Summary

Registered Dietitians (RDs) become experts in food and nutrition after obtaining a

bachelor degree in Nutrition, completing an internship, and passing a national exam.

However, this report researches further than required degrees, programs and

examinations. Current job offerings and LinkedIn profiles of several RDs were

evaluated in order to discover which skills employers were seeking when hiring. It

is evident that soft skills such as communication, innovation and problem solving

are just as important as credentials and other hard skills.

This report is an in depth analysis of my goals in becoming an RD. It evaluates my

current status pertaining to this profession in relation to skills that are required andevaluated by employers.

This analysis finds that in order for me to find a job with ease in the future, I willhave to build upon my online identities. I should also gain experience within the

field to add to my resume, as well as provide outstanding care to clients andpatients.



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Current Web Analysis:

Future Profession:

Goals for the Future

After graduating with a B.S. degree in Nutrition (Dietetics), I hope to become a

Registered Dietitian (RD).

An RD is a food and nutrition expert that works in a variety of settings, including

health care, food and nutrition industry, journalism, sports nutrition, and corporate

wellness programs, as well as many others. (American Dietetic Association).

Personally, I would like to work in a health and wellness related career in order to

educate my clients on important relationships between food, fitness, and health.

According to the ADA, in order to hold an RD credential, the following requirements

must be met:

y A minimum of a bachelors degreeat a university or college, accredited by theCommission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the ADA.

y Completed CADE-accredited supervised practice program (Internship or

graduate studies).

y Passed a national examination administered by the Commission on DieteticRegistration (CDR)

y Completed continuing professional educational requirements to maintain

registration.

I am currently enrolled at Arizona State University (ASU), in the accredited Didactic

Program in Dietetics (DPD). My graduation date is set for Spring 2012. During my

last semester I will have to apply to multiple internships and/or graduate schools.

Upon completion of either the internship or graduate program, I will be prepared to

take the national examination, and earn my RD credentials.





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Registered Dietitians: At a Glance

RDs become experts in food and nutrition after obtaining a bachelor degree in

Nutrition, completing an internship, and passing a national exam. However, once

becoming an RD, soft skills are just as important in order to carry out the knowledge

learned in school.

Just as evidenced based research is of extreme importance, the means that RDs

apply this research amongst patients and peers is equally significant.

y Customer focus and problem solving skills

It is extremely important to realize that each patient is different and

modifications to their diet and lifestyle must be individualized to meet that

persons specific needs and/or requirements (American Diatetic Association,

2010).

y I nnovation

RDs must be able to embrace change with creativity and strategic thinking,

while keeping up with current research. They must be able to think of new

ways to help the patient when other methods are deemed unsuccessful

(American Diatetic Association, 2010).

y Communication Skills

RDs should be able to successfully collaborate amongst the customer and

other medical professionals. Communication skills are extremely important

throughout counseling and assessment aspects of this profession (American

Diatetic Association, 2010).

Current RDs

These educational requirements and core values were evident when reviewing the

LinkedIn profiles of three current RDs (See Appendix B). Some RDs had their

Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as experience in a variety of work places.Soft skills mentioned included customer care, communication skills, counseling

skills, and leadership/problem solving skills.



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Criteria I Might Use to Evaluate an RD:

y Qualification/Credentials

y Communication Skills

y Experience/Knowledge

y Work Ethic

y Problem Solving Skills &

Innovative Thinking

Current Online Identities

Identity Findings

To evaluate my current online identities, I used several search engines including,

Google, ASU, and Facebook. I found several correct searches, as well as, several false

ones.

When searching Victoria Burch ASU on Google and Victoria Burch on ASUswebsite, my profile on ASUs directory came up. My profile includes my ASU email

address, undergraduate student status, major, and college (See Appendix C-1a).

Also, searching Victoria Burch on Facebook brings you to my Facebook profile

(See Appendix C-1b). Due to privacy settings, the only information available for

viewing to people whom I am not friends with include, my name, picture, current

location, hometown, and ASU Network.

False searches of Victoria Burch on Google led to several Facebook pages that

were not me, as well as, a LinkedIn profile of a different person (See Appendix C-2).

Since someone could have gotten my email from the ASU search, I searched my

username vaburch Victoria Burch on Bing. This led to my Glogster, mindmeister,

WordPress and Diigo accounts (See Appendix C-3). Although not nutrition related, it

is still good that employers can see that I am familiar with different multimedia

applications. My WordPress blog also links out to my resume and LinkedIn profile

which is beneficial.

Fulfillment of my Digital Identity

In Relation to the Criteria I Might Use to Evaluate an RD

Qualification/Credentials

My ASU and LinkedIn Profile show that I am currently an undergraduate student at

ASU, and therefore do not have the qualifications or credentials of a Registered

Dietitian.



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Experience/Knowledge

My ASU and LinkedIn profile shows that I am currently majoring in Dietetics. My

LinkedIn Profile also provides a link to my traditional and timeline resumes (See

Appendix D). My timeline resume provides a list of the courses I have taken thus far,

which informs potential employers of the knowledge I have gained in school. Also,

my WordPress Blog for the class, TWC301, shows that I have experience in various

multimedia applications and am able to write in a technological fashion.

Communication Skills

My communication skills may be seen through my blog. However, it has nothing to

do with nutrition, nor anything client based. In my LinkedIn profile I added several

groups and associations that I am affiliated with; this shows that I am interested in

other nutrition professionals contributions, opinions and discussions. It also

demonstrates that I am willing to be an active member in the community.

Work Ethic

My projects for the class, TWC301, can be seen through my WordPress blog.

Although they are unrelated to nutrition (except for Project 3) it shows that I put

significant effort into assignments.

Problem Solving Skills & Innovative T hinking

None of my online identities truly show that I have real time problem solving skills.

However, the class NTR341, outlined in my timeline resume is one of the core DPD

classes for Dietetic Majors. It is based on therapeutic meal planning with an

emphasis on personalizing meal plans for specific criteria.



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Conclusions:

Bridging the Gap

Strengths

I have my foot in the door...

Overall, my current online professional identity shows that I am on my way to

becoming an RD. My timeline resume shows the courses that I have taken, and my

ASU profile shows that I am a Dietetic Major. I will continue to add my courses untilgraduation. Creating and posting a LinkedIn profile and several forms of a resume

has made it easier to reach my goal.

Goal Oriented& Hard Working

My LinkedIn profile outlines exactly what I want to do in the future. This analysis

posted to my WordPress Blog, also shows that I am goal oriented. It shows that Iknow exactly what I want in my future, and although it is a difficult major, I am

aware of the steps I need to take to get there. In order to build upon this, I need to

participate in volunteer work or organizations pertaining to the Nutrition field.

Weaknesses

Experience/Worth Ethic

I have little to no experience to put on my resume. This is an enormous problem for

my major. Dietetic Internships are extremely competitive and volunteer or

cooperation in organizations is a major determining factor of who is picked for each

one. I will have to participate in more volunteer opportunities, and get involvedwith either the Student Nutrition Counsel at ASU, or other organizations that areknown throughout the Nutrition field. Hopefully my LinkedIn profile will help with

this.

Stand out Resume

Since I have little to no experience or worth ethic my resume is already weak.

However, most students are aware that internships are competitive and therefore

load up on volunteer work. I think that a great way for my internship to stand out

amongst others is to start a WordPress blog pertaining to Nutrition. I could use this

as a resume and show that I would be able to blog or write articles that have to do

with health and wellness. I am actually very excited about this and am going to start

creating it over summer. Im happy that I will be able to use the skills I have

obtained from my Multimedia Writing course.



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Appendices:

Appendix A: Job Opportunities

1. Personal Training Institute

2. Image Planet Health Club in Union

3. Army Medical Department (AMEDD)

Appendix B: Current RD LinkedIn Profiles

1. Alexandra O.

2. Registered Dietitian at Summit Medical Group of Berkeley Heights, NJ

3. Registered Dietitian, founder LSM Nutrition

Appendix C: Current Online Identities

1. Correct Searches:

Search: Victoria Anne Burch ASU

a. https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/1022916

Search: Victoria Burch on Facebook

b. http://www.facebook.com/vick434

2. False Searches:Search: Victoria Burch

a. http://www.facebook.com/burchv

b. http://www.facebook.com/victoria.burch2

c. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/victoria-burch/14/9a4/b79

3. E-mail Username Searches:

Search: vaburch (could have been obtained from ASU directory)

a. Glogster

b. mindmeister

c. Diigo

d. LinkedIn

Appendix D: Other

1. Traditional Resume

2. Timeline Resume



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Works Cited

American Diatetic Association. (2010, September 14). Strategic Plan 2010. Retrieved

April 2, 2011, from eatright.org.

American Dietetic Association. (n.d.). Registered Dietition (RD). Retrieved April 9,2011, from eatright.org:

http://www.eatright.org/students/education/starthere.aspx

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Project 3 DOC[1]