Staff Spotlight
Jerique Arqueza, Clinical Dietitian
Meet Jerique Arqueza, a clinical dietitian with the renal program at Vancouver General Hospital. Jerique works with the interdisciplinary team to care for the in-centre hemodialysis patients, nocturnal hemodialysis and home hemodialysis patients.
“I enjoy being a dietitian because there are so many roles within one job that are so interesting and fulfilling,” she says. “With the clinical aspect of working in a specialized field, I am always learning something new from my colleagues, students and patients.”
Jerique really enjoys building relationships with her patients and learning alongside the members of the renal dietitian team, the VGH dietitian team and the renal multi-disciplinary team. “Renal patients have complex medical and nutritional needs,” she explains. “Many have to follow a specific dietary pattern to stay healthy when they receive renal replacement therapy.”
Along with her fellow dietitians in the renal program, Jerique screens, assesses and provides necessary nutrition interventions and education to their patients to support and empower them through their health journey, for as long as they require this life-sustaining therapy.
Education and continuous learning
In addition to working at VGH, Jerique is also a clinical instructor for the dietetics program at UBC and regularly acts as a preceptor for dietetics students during their practice education placements. “I recently completed a degree in education, so I am excited to continue learning, building on and applying my skills to support my students and fellow colleagues.”
Jerique tells us that as members of the greater dietitian team at VGH, they all participate in providing support and advice to one another to continue improving their practice.
“I believe every health professional has a vital role in contributing to the future of their profession and ultimately the future of the health system that cares for the community,” she says. “I am particularly interested in a student’s entry to practice, which can be a challenging transition, and providing support through this process.”
Jerique has participated in committees to develop and review education materials for patients and staff. One example is a knowledge translation (KT) challenge she has been working on with a group of VCH dietitians to positively impact the dietetics practice at Vancouver Acute (VA). “We have been working on implementing the use of a nutrition assessment tool called the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and incorporating it as standard practice for VA dietitians,” she says.
“The hope is that the use of the SGA will become widespread and recognizable even across health disciplines so that the nutrition issues of our patients can be communicated and prioritized.”
Bringing a dream career to reality
Jerique knew she wanted to work in nephrology ever since she was a dietetics student and volunteered with a renal dietitian at a community dialysis unit. “I was always impressed by the scope of their role, the projects they undertook to support patient care and patient education as well as how valued they were by their team,” she says. “I think being a dietitian is the perfect combination of clinical nutrition, health sciences, patient care and teaching- everything that I have wanted in a career.”
Support and feedback
Hearing feedback from patients whose lives you made a difference in is a big motivator. “One of the best moments that happens at work is when a patient comes back to say hi and thank the team for the care and support they have received over the years,” says Jerique. “It is a testament to the relationships we build with our patients and the quality of care the team provides.”
For Jerique, feeling supported comes from having clinical practice support, being acknowledged and heard, as well as being allowed to participate and contribute to our practice, our program and our workplace.
“I receive support from my fellow dietitians, professional practice leadership and educator, and I can approach any of them for advice with a practice/clinical issue,” she says. “We all bring each other up by celebrating our accomplishments and resilience. The renal team also supports me by inviting input from dietitians, being open to starting committees that aim to improve the care we provide as a team, and supporting my attendance/participation in various continuing education opportunities.”
Join the team
Explore the current career opportunities for Dietitians at Vancouver Coastal Health.