Jetting off to college brings excitement. New friendships and professional opportunities await.

But it also brings the obligation of taking care of your health without a parent’s watchful eye. Dorm buffets, sugary drinks and sleeping in all the time can lead to your clothes feeling tighter and your self-esteem feeling lower.

So what’s the scoop on the so-called freshman 15? How big of a problem is weight gain in college? How can you prevent it?

First things first: Rachel Bult, a supervisor dietitian at OSF HealthCare, says it’s more like three to 10 pounds weight gain in the first year on average, not 15. But the issue is still worth paying attention to.

“You add more calories than you intend to,” with food options in college, Bult says. “Also, stress and lack of sleep can cause increased cravings for sweets and comfort foods.”

Some tips to consider:

• Exercise portion control. Remember the saying “Are your eyes bigger than your stomach?”
   
• If you’re on a meal plan that means buffet meals every day, go to a healthier station first. Start with a salad and a vinaigrette dressing, Bult suggests. Non-starchy vegetables as your side can provide fiber. Protein like chicken, fish, beans, chickpeas and tofu will help keep you full.
   
• For exercise, find movement you enjoy. Don’t approach it as a chore. If you like pickleball, find a local league.
   
• Keep healthy snacks, not junk food, at arm’s reach.
  
  “When I was in college, I would have a protein smoothie in the morning to help fill me up,” Bult recalls. “But you could also keep fruit, string cheese, unsalted nuts or bell peppers with hummus. Just things that are healthier and quicker to grab and go.”
   
• Smartphone apps can be a short-term tool to get you on the right track, Bult says. Apps can track what you’re eating, your daily steps and more.
  
  “Those can help you understand the nutritional value of what you’re consuming,” Bult says.
   
• Talk to your primary care provider or a dietitian if you need guidance. Research what your local school, health system or social service groups offer.

Learn more

The OSF HealthCare website has healthy recipes.

Interview clips

The OSF HealthCare Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship program is adding emergency medicine to the list of tracks for fellows.

The OSF HealthCare APP Fellowship is accredited with distinction as an Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Program by the American Nursing Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs.

The 12-month program has more than a 97% graduation rate and offers 100% of graduates a permanent position within OSF HealthCare. The robust, cutting-edge APP Fellowship program at OSF is among the most mature of all health systems in the country.

The APP fellowship program focuses on professional growth by offering mentorship, regular feedback and skills assessment that build on the knowledge fellows learned in graduate school. At the end, they are more prepared to transition into full-time practice. OSF HealthCare is also leveraging federal grant money to extend primary care support to high-need communities with vulnerable populations, using resources such as OSF Care-A-Vans to support street medicine teams or on-site clinics.

The APP Fellowship curriculum stresses the importance of excellent communication with patients and colleagues. Other confidence-building exercises result in developing decision-making and other soft skills that often result in fellows advancing quickly to leadership positions within their area, region, or even across the OSF Ministry.

This new track in emergency medicine will allow fellows to rotate through a variety of emergency departments within our OSF HealthCare system, caring for different populations of patients in critical access hospitals to Level 1 Trauma Centers. Using the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, the program will provide hands-on skills training to equip new APPs for any situation they may encounter.

If interested in joining the APP fellowship program, please fill out the form here to receive more information.

Les Mennenga, an OSF HealthCare Mission Partner (employee) and lead educator for East Central Illinois EMS (emergency medical services), runs Bryson Freehill and Andy Lubben through a scenario in a training ambulance. The patient, a manikin named Noelle, is complaining of a terrible headache. Freehill also notices a bulge in the manikin’s belly.

“Is she pregnant?” he asks.

“She is,” says Mennenga, standing by with a tablet that controls elements of the scenario.

And the men get to work.

Becoming a first responder

Mennenga oversees training for the three levels of ambulance responders – emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician basic and paramedic – plus nurses who work in the field or answer EMS calls in the emergency department.

“Anybody who wants to get into the world of EMS has to work with some sort of education facility,” Mennenga says. “We’re one of those.”

There’s no college degree requirement, but plenty of initial and continuing education is part of the job. Plus, you become familiar with medical best practices, all stored on a smartphone app you can access quickly in the field.

There’s no debating that the job is stressful, but it’s rewarding and usually well-paying, Mennenga says.

“We’re going to be on calls where it’s potentially a person’s worst day of their life. We have an opportunity to make a difference,” Mennenga says. “We may see something that’s traumatic. We need to understand who we can turn to talk about that.”

Noelle’s fate

Freehill and Lubben ended up treating Noelle for eclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, which led to a seizure. No critical errors in their treatment, Mennenga told the pair in a debriefing.

“We tend to do scenarios that are not common in the field or a call in the last year that had an issue with a real patient,” Mennenga says. “So we may find an area where there could be improvement. Now we’ll put it into practice and see if other people have the same issue. Is it something we need to include in initial education?”

If you’re interested in this line of work, Mennenga suggests contacting your local EMS agency or volunteer fire department. Before enrolling in a class, try observing one or doing an ambulance ride-along.

“See the realism of treating patients in the field,” Mennenga says.

Interview clips

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