Weight Management Nutrition Counseling Volunteers Needed

Dietetic students will perform a brief nutrition assessment and determine energy needs for the volunteer.

Senior dietetic students in the department, who are not registered dietitians, will use this experience to prepare for dietetic internships and future professional practice. 

Appointments are available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, and Wednesday, Nov. 7. A follow-up session will be scheduled when the original appointment is made. Follow-up appointments will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 28 or 30.

At the scheduled sessions, dietetic students will perform a brief nutrition assessment. Students then will help the volunteer develop behavior-change goals for a healthy lifestyle approach to weight management using motivational interviewing.

The first session will last about 60 minutes, and the second meeting will take about 30 minutes for follow-up goal setting. Sessions will be videotaped and reviewed by the student, instructor and graduate students to aid the student in improving their counseling skills.

Anyone interested in helping students develop their counseling skills should call the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at 314-977-8523 or email Sarah Carroll at sarah.carroll@slu.edu with your preferred appointment date and time, phone number and email address.

Because the exercise is conducted by students, volunteers should not be following a special physician-recommended diet.

Volunteers will need to complete a three-day food record, a nutrition history and a weight history form, which will be emailed to participants by the student counselors. The forms should be returned to the student counselor so that they can prepare for your session.