#IamMGH – Meet Michele Szeto

#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. Meet Michele Szeto, Registered Dietitian at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). Michele joined MGH at the end of 2017 and has worked in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), General and Thoracic Surgery and the Special Care Nursery.

“I’ve always wanted to do something where I could give back. Growing up in Halifax, I enjoyed volunteering at my church and at our local veteran’s home with meal assistance. It was partly because of this that I knew I would want to work in healthcare so that I could continue to give back. I got accepted into nursing school but my family and friends helped me discover nutrition. After completing my first clinical placement, I knew I loved it.”

When I moved to Ontario I initially worked at Kingston General Hospital before deciding to move to Toronto so that I could be closer to my family. I came to MGH in December of 2017 to work in the ICU and surgery. Over time, my role changed to also include working in thoracic surgery and in the special care nursery. 

Nutrition plays an interesting role in healthcare. A lot of times when we think of healthcare we think of medical treatment and medicine, but we forget about the nutrition piece and the role it plays in someone’s health. As a dietitian, my overall goal for all my patients is to optimize their nutritional status (whether it is through an oral diet, enteral nutrition and/or parenteral nutrition), so that it can help improve their health outcomes and decrease their length of stay in hospital.

The nature of our work is patient-centred. For instance, the patient’s admitting diagnosis, medical history, blood work and social situation will all help determine their medical nutrition care plan. Depending on the clinical area, our work may differ. But no matter where I am, my work is always very collaborative. For example, a part of my job includes seeing patients after surgery for esophageal cancer. I follow these patients throughout their hospital stay from the ICU to the surgical ward to ensure they are receiving proper nutrition therapy. I work with patients and their family members, nurses and other allied health professionals to help patients transition from hospital to home safely on tube feeding and oral diet.            

COVID-19 has definitely changed how we work with patients and their families. Education is a big component of our work, especially when it comes to patients who are going home. Normally we would have their families or caregivers on-site and we would teach them how to care for their loved ones while they are on tube feeds. Now, we provide a lot more education over the phone and our patients are followed by a community dietitian once they are discharged home.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy hiking, playing the piano, and unsurprisingly as a dietitian – trying new foods! I’ll eat anything (in moderation of course)!”