PulseConnect July Member Spotlight: Kelly Wolschon
This month, we spoke with Kelly Wolschon, a Registered Dietitian in Redondo Beach who works with both dialysis patients and pregnant women. An active member of our network for more than 10 years, Kelly spent a few minutes to talk with us about the way PulseConnect factors into her day-to-day work with patients.
Q: How do you use materials that you receive from PulseConnect?
A: I use the materials sent from PulseConnect in both settings that I counsel patients in. I also share this information with my coworkers if they are having relevant conversations with the people whom they counsel. I want to make sure the information gets into the hands of the patients who could use it.
Q: Could you describe a recent program that you found valuable and why?
A: I received two programs recently that were very valuable—Barilla and Clif Bar.
The Barilla materials were extremely informative as far as the glycemic index information. It also helped me in becoming more aware of the different varieties of pasta that are out there. The materials educated me about what the marketplace is offering.
With the Clif Bar program, there was a lot of detail in the materials that I can use to share with my patients. Most notably the materials highlighted the nutritional content of the food. The detailed information is really useful for when I make brand recommendations.
Q: Does pointing to a specific brand help with the recommendations that you’re making?
A: For sure. If I can put something specific in people’s reach or in their focus, they will go for that. They really respect the recommendations and they want it to be clear cut.
Q: What kind of things are your clients asking you about? What are topics that you discuss on a daily basis?
A: There are a lot of questions about different beverages, the health importance of all the different drinks out there, such as the different types of water, flavored water, electrolyte enhanced, etc. There’s so many different options it can be overwhelming and they’re not sure what to believe.
I often talk about label reading, and I’m just trying to get them to make smarter decisions. I advise them on how to kind of read through the labels to understand the actual health benefits.
We often discuss the science behind claims. The people who I counsel are not afraid to get a little bit of science background to help them better understand the claims.
Q: What do you like best about PulseConnect?
A: I appreciate that the materials are written very specifically and targeted toward health professionals. The language is very understandable and helpful for us and usually written by another health professional. It’s very refreshing to get to the point—that’s what we are looking for. It is great that because of PulseConnect, I don’t need to weed through a lot of extra information that’s really not important.
I’ve been really happy with the information that I’ve received over the past 10 years. Everything I’ve received was useful in my practice.