While nutrition is now recognised as an important part of therapy in critically ill patients, there’s still more dietitians can do to champion their role in this arena. In this podcast, join internationally recognised researchers and dietitians, Associate Professor Emma Ridley and Dr Kate Lambell, as they discuss the importance of research in advocating for dietitians in critical care. We explore Emma and Kate’s incredible career journeys from clinical roles to academia and hear their advice for both new and experienced dietitians wanting to get started in research. Emma and Kate also share their career highlights and biggest challenges and why a career break doesn’t have to break your career.
Biographies
Associate Professor Emma Ridley is a Senior Research Fellow, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and leads the Nutrition Program at the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Emma has 17 years of clinical dietetic experience, including as a senior dietitian in the ICU at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Emma has more than 95 peer reviewed publications and has been a named investigator on more than $>10 million dollars of research funding. In real life Emma is a wife, a sister and a mother to 2 children – 7 and 2.Â
Dr Kate Lambell has 17 years’ experience working as a clinical dietitian and currently leads the ICU, burns and trauma nutrition team at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. In 2021, Kate completed her PhD which focused on the evaluation of novel bedside techniques for muscle mass assessment in critically ill adults. Kate has research interests in critical care nutrition, body composition analysis, energy expenditure, and diagnostic tools to assess and monitor nutrition status during hospitalisation. Kate is co-lead of the Australasian Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Research Mentoring Program and is passionate about both mentoring and learning from others.
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In this episode, we discuss:
- The evolution of dietetics in the ICU setting
- How career breaks can enhance your professional life
- The most challenging moments in Emma and Kate’s careers
- Advice for dietitians getting started in research
Additional resources:
The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC) Nutrition Program
This podcast is not, and is not intended to be, medical advice, which should be tailored to your individual circumstances. This podcast is for your information only, and we advise that you exercise your own judgment before deciding to use the information provided. Professional medical advice should be obtained before taking action. Please see here for terms and conditions.