Latest / Nutrition Connection by Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof / 35: Violeta Morris MS, RDN - PRIVATE PRACTICE / MEDIA
Transcript
- Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Hi and welcome back to Nutrition Connection, the show where science meets storytelling. I'm your host, Dr. Kristin Xroof, dietitian, researcher, and lifelong advocate of the role of nutrition, health, and wellness. Each episode, I sit down with dietitians and nutrition experts all across the food and healthcare landscape, leaders whose work touches nearly every aspect of our lives. So whether you're a student, a seasoned professional, or someone simply curious about food, nutrition, and health, this podcast is just for you. Violeta Morris: Thank Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: The views, thoughts and comments on this podcast do not reflect those of my employer nor the employers of my guests. So let's go ahead and get connected. I'm really excited to bring out a new connection who actually I initiated to get her on the show. So I'm really excited. Her name is Violeta Morris. She is a founder and registered dietitian at the Concierge dietitian. Welcome to the show Violeta. Violeta Morris: Thank you so much, Dr. Kristin Hicksworth. I really appreciate you reaching out. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: So I reached out to you because I love to see new adventures. And I think so many times dieticians are going off on a new adventure, right? Whether that's a new part of their career or a new business, many of us are entrepreneurial minded, I guess you could say. And so I've been following you on LinkedIn. I was like, wow, what a cool story as you've really started to build out the Concierge dietician. So I can't wait to get into. some of the things you've learned, but I first want to start out with, number one, what inspired you and made you want to become a nutrition professional in the first place? Violeta Morris: Yeah, thank you so much. So I became, ⁓ I actually am the first generation college student in my family. So going into college, I didn't have a lot of like background in terms of my parents telling me what to look for. And it was just like, I went to college, not having a major. And then I started to gain weight on my own just because I left home and I was starting to eat cafeteria food and late night snacking. We all know that if you have that cafeteria pass. But then also at the same time, my mom got sick and she ended up having pre-diabetes and like a mini stroke. And it came back to the root of nutrition that I feel like I knew that my metabolism was different. So that is kind of what sparked me to like understand a little bit more about my body. And I always grew up with plenty of food. And we never looked at like beans, frijoles, being, you know, fiber rich. ⁓ with lot of polyphenols. ⁓ And so it was just so interesting at that time. I met one of my mentors now, Dr. Andy Lee Gonzalez. ⁓ She was doing her master's in nutrition and she's like, look, you should probably look into this major. I think you'll really like it. And so it was just like the perfect time and the person, the person at the right time kind of guiding me. so I'm like, yeah, sure, I'll take a couple classes and see how that goes. And it wasn't until I think I was like a junior that I decided to become a nutrition major. So that's kind of how I got started. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Well, and I think having a good mentor, so Andy is a very recognizable name. I know that name very well. I've seen her as she's progressed throughout her career and hopefully I'll get her on the show one day. So there's a shout out. Andy, if you're listening, we're going to get you on the show. But you know, I think having that really good mentor to say, hey, here's where you have knowledge or skills or passions and then being able to take those courses. I remember Violeta Morris: Yes! Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: when I was a faculty member and I used to teach nutrition for non-majors. And I loved that course. Like I would have graphic design in there and sometimes nursing, right? You're like, sometimes you have the health professions. And then all of a people are like, this is cool. Like, can I study this? And I'm like, yeah, actually you can. There's a whole degree about this. And so that is really cool. So you decided to become a dietician. Okay. So you're like, all right, this is what I'm going to do. You go to school. Violeta Morris: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: What happens after that? So you graduated from your undergrad. Let's talk about your journey a little bit. Where did you go? How did you, what kind of careers did you have to ultimately get you to where you're at today in terms of starting your own business as the concierge dietitian? Violeta Morris: Yeah, thank you. That's a great question. So At that time, 12 years ago when I was a dietitian, we weren't required to have a master's and now we are. And so I kind of saw the internship opportunity as a time to kind of build both of them in just because the timeframe of that commitment of the internship was just like, let's get a master's out of it. I'm going to pay into it. So there was an amazing program at University of Texas Medical Branch. I just wanted to go down south. I never feared moving away. I'm the only child that actually did go away. And I haven't been back to my hometown in Sturgis, Michigan. And so when I applied for the internship, I got it and I was able to get a full right scholarship. So that was also a blessing by Dr. Jean, ⁓ Dr. Jean Fry. And I just said, let's let's do it. And so I had a fiance or a boyfriend at the time. And I just like, look, we're not ready to do anything. I'm going to move down south. You moved back to your hometown, which Columbus will be brought up later. And so I went down, got my master's and then It was time when I graduated my master's, it was time to look for real job. But at that same time, I had an internship where there was a therapeutic sales rep for Abbott at the time that came in and did a taste testing for Insure products. And in my back of my mind, when I was looking for jobs, her career came into the picture. Otherwise, I think I wouldn't have been exposed to that field. And so then I told my he was my fiance at the time. I'm like, there's an Abbott opportunity back home. I can apply for it. And so luckily, I was able to do an inside sales role at Abbott, which is the company I kind of just left before I build my private practice. And so it just kind of worked out. I got the job, but then it was time to relocate back out. And so I convinced him at the time we were going to get married. Can we move down to Houston? Because now I have to move for this territory because that's the only way they would offer you the sales job. So anybody listening to inside sales rules, if they say you have to move, they mean it. not, you're not going to get hired. And so we moved down to Houston for three years. And then my dad got sick and it was a terminal illness. So I asked my husband, we love Houston, but it's time to go back home, closer to home. So we decided to relocate back to Columbus, Ohio. got another job at Abbott. I love Abbott. Like the loyalty behind, you know, leading Abbott is still there. ⁓ But they were able to offer me a job that it was consumer relations. So a lot of product complaints. And then I also had a dietitian role where I would see patients virtually. But then I also knew that I wasn't for that like eight to five desk job, because that's what it was. And I really itched to go back into sales. And then that's when the amazing opportunity for representing the Freestyle Libre came about. And I went for it and I did it for five years locally here in Columbus, Ohio. I already had a lot of the sales experience and just the building the relationships with these doctors and nurse practitioners and even the staff that I connected the last five years drew me to where I am now where they even when I was working as a freestyle Libra rep, they're like, can you see my patients? We need more support with nutrition. And I just saw so many gaps. in the healthcare field where doctors and nurse practitioners have 15 minutes with the patient. They're struggling to finish their chart notes, everything they have to do. And sadly, I saw so many practitioners, not everybody, not recommend the device, now the American Diabetes Association now recommends as a first standard line for people with type 1 and even type 2 patients to be on a continuous glucose monitor, either the Dexcom or the Libre. And they weren't offering it to because they didn't want to deal with the technology. They didn't want to deal with insurance and they didn't want to educate the patients because they didn't have time. And so that is a real reason why I decided to open up my own nutrition business called the concierge dietitian where I can do all that. And so that empowered me to leave the relationships that I have with these doctors. So any Any person out there thinking that they can open up their own private practice, you just have to find your niche and what you see passion in and these devices, even outside I know this is all flabell usage at the time, but now we have an over the counter product. So many people lost weight just by wearing it just because we all know that over snacking leads to high blood sugar levels. And if people just saw that your fluctuations go in a wave, if you just reduce those know, blood sugar levels, more than likely you are going to lose weight naturally. So yeah, that's, that's my love for continuous glucose monitors and Abbott and now my own private practice. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: So this is actually pretty crazy. I am going to a professional development workshop tonight in Arizona on continuous glucose monitors and the Libre. So I cannot wait to actually learn more. I love going in and learning about new products, new technologies and from, right? Like I think Abbott is such a great company. I've had many of my colleagues working at Abbott. I actually interviewed at ANHI years and years ago and I would have loved to take that job with Amy Heap, but I hate the cold. Violeta Morris: Woo! Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I was like, Amy, cannot live in Ohio. Like, I am not built for this type of weather. But yeah, I think that is really cool. And you really do have to have sometimes that experience where you start to see these gaps. And I think that's where you're like, OK, here's my niche. Right. Like, I've been listening to podcasts for years and I've always were like, I was trying to think, well, I want to do a podcast, but I didn't know what. And then all of a sudden it was like, bing, bing, bing. I knew my niche because I saw Violeta Morris: Thank you. you Mm-hmm. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: the gap. So I think that sounds like what you did too in when you were in practice, right? In your different roles across Abbott, you saw this disconnect in healthcare, which is something that is widely, widely prevalent, right? Like you just saw it in a small scale, but now you're, I mean, you're talking about national issues as well. And to now have the concierge dietician where you can maybe fill some of those gaps by offering additional services. So let's talk about Violeta Morris: correct. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: your private practice. I mean, that's a big jump. Big jump. Were you scared? Violeta Morris: ⁓ my gosh, I had imposter syndrome. I'm not gonna lie. think most of us, not all of dieticians have it, but I did. So I also have kids. So I have two kids. One is three and five. My five-year-old started kindergarten. She was not in daycare full-time anymore, so I... wanted to be there at drop off and pick up nine to four in with my current sales job. Yes, you have flexibility as a sales rep, but I think there's a lot of pressure of evenings and weekends. And I just was like, I want to be more present with my kids. So to be honest, like also being a mom exposed me to where I am now, but I'm very thankful. So with my private practice, I am an insurance based model. I was able to get credentialed with all these insurance carriers. I also knew that part of my business, wanted to do media work. So I signed up for Master of the Media, which is the media course that kind of helps you get into get featured as a health expert in all these amazing outlets. And I know a lot of dieticians are doing it like eat this, not that readers digest real simple. And so I've kind of been featured before I even left my job 4050. different articles, I just kept it really kind of secret because I didn't want Abbott to like say this is a conflict of interest, which I know I think a lot of dietitians are in that boat thinking like it's a conflict of interest. So I just I just feel like it isn't if you're talking broadly about what is fiber or what are fiber rich foods. But I still felt like I wasn't ready to expose my reasoning there. And then what else did I do that kind of prepared me ⁓ Institute of functional medicine. So while I was a sales rep, I met amazing doctors. Dr. Weston is one of my leaders and Dr. Howser. ⁓ They're in that Institute of functional medicine. And they're like, look, like, because I came in one day and I know this is a little off topic but I had kind of like eczema on my on my hands and your typical convention doctor would give you here's eczema cream go home. And these other functional doctors are like, let's talk about where you stress. And I just had a baby. So there's a lot of hormone changes. And I really love that approach of asking me 10, 15 questions before giving me this JustMed that is going to cure my eczema. But what is the root reasoning for getting that eczema to begin with? so I'm finishing up that certification there. So I did those things within a year to prepare me to leave. And I decided to take the leap of faith. And now that I'm on this other side, I encourage people to think like it is going to work out. within a month of, you know, secretly two weeks before I even left my job, I had already seen patients. And then the first month of leaving, I saw like 20, 20 patients and I was busy. Like I didn't even have, I feel like still this is month two of my entrepreneurship. I don't think I have all the systems in place, like the billing aspect. And I am working with ⁓ Dr. Andy Lee Gonzalez. Her husband is actually my biller. And I trust her and her husband so much that I just have the right mentorship and support to open up my own private practice. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: mean, there was a lot of things. So I'm going to pull a few things. Number one is if you have kids. So I also have three little kids and that balance is really hard. Right. And that was something that I expressed to my new employer. Whenever I change jobs, said, I want to make sure that my kids are a core component of of what I went. when I took the job at the National Pork Board the first two years. So I had a three month old at the time. That was my third little girl. And Violeta Morris: Yes! Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I said, she's gonna go everywhere for the first two years because I'm in a nurse. And so we were on over 40 flights together for the first two years. And Workward was awesome. And I don't talk a lot about my work, but I do think if you want to go into a new role or go into your own private practice, being able to feel comfortable and confident that you can be a parent and you can make those balances. And sometimes it's just communication of, hey, Violeta Morris: Mm-hmm. No! Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Here's my needs, my drop off might be early or late and so I'll stay late or early. You know, some of those things. And then two, I love to hear you talk about you almost like put pieces of the puzzle ready to go. So then when you finally made that transition, it was a much smoother transition. It wasn't I left my job and I started my private practice from scratch the next day. So I do think that's a strategy that could be very useful for the listeners of hey, find things that you wanna offer as part of your service packages. So if media is part of that private practice, start getting some education and training. There's so many awesome media dietitians out there. I know I had Mandy Enright on the show earlier. So there's great media dietitians that we can connect with, learn from, and Violetta, you're another example of, hey, what are some skills that you learned? you've talked a little bit about, you do a variety of things ⁓ in your private practice. I'm curious, why did you name it the Concierge Dietitian? I love that. That actually is what pulled me in on LinkedIn. I was like, ⁓ that's clever. Why did you name it? And what type of services do you hope that would be kind of your leader or your leadership options or like what you offer to your clients first and foremost? Violeta Morris: Yeah, thank you. That's a great question. So the name came about because I live in New Albany. It's a very affluent community. And I know that people from the patients that I kind of even saw, the providers that I called on, they want to be invested in their health. And I think And it's a blessing that we have the access to health care, but sometimes they need more guidance. so I created, I also saw as nutrition, let's start all over. Sorry, I'm not like, I wasn't expecting this question, but I do love it. So what was the question again? Do you mind repeating the question? Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: It was something along the lines of like, why did you name it the concierge dietician? And then what is like your goal for offerings? So what do you wanna kind of lead your private practice in? Is it clinical offerings or is it media? Violeta Morris: Okay, perfect. Yes. So I named the Concierge Dietitian because I live in New Albany, Ohio. It's a very affluent community where I live. And so with working with the doctors that I used to call on, I realized that there are those gaps that we kind of talked about. And so I also wanted to make this business where it's affordable and accessible. So I went the insurance-based model. for accessibility of patients that can't afford it. For those patients that can afford it, I created a package where patients can kind of have more one-on-one time with me. And I will include the continuous glucose monitors if I feel like it's a fit for them with both ⁓ packages that I kind of have the insurance-based model and then the Concier package that I have. With the Concier package, what they can get is also grocery shopping. They will go to dinner or lunch with me and we'll review meal plans. We'll create different meal plans for them in terms of a structure that they need. So it's more like one-on-one support that insurance can't pay. And I do know that it's so accessible for people to kind of feel like they are handheld and accountable. Another one was if you want to go work out, let's go work out. I'll even pick you up from your house. Obviously the cost is going to fluctuate there, but I do think that there's so many people. that don't want to go to the gym because they're going alone. as a dietitian, I believe that nutrition and physical movement go hand in hand in terms of health and wellness. And so that's kind of how I created that like patient care interaction. The other two pillars or I guess the other pillar of my business is media work. I do want to work with brands and that's kind of what I'm striving for when I am kind of being a health expert. I also started a TikTok channel slash Instagram YouTube, but on TikTok It started like a year before I left my job and now I have 20,000 followers just kind of not even trying. ⁓ But where I started my TikTok channel was for Spanish speaking patients with pre diabetes and diabetes. So when I first started kind of creating this social media aspect, I can't kind of got confused and went back and forth. Do I focus on my English patients locally where I live? But then in reality, kind of half of my heart also goes to patients that don't get that nutrition advice. There's so many great dietitians doing media work or just on social media sharing great knowledge. And it's all in English, at least in the US. But there's a few handful dietitians in the US that speak Spanish solely. So 95 % of my content is Spanish speaking content, where I see that these patients deserve to also know what's going on with their blood sugar levels. And I think also with brands, I want to create that awareness that If you are in the US, it's important to speak to your audience in the language that one, they can completely understand, even though some people do speak English, but talking about their health, maybe Spanish is the language they want to hear that information. And so I'm going to leverage kind of that ⁓ benefit of me working as a media dietitian for that company to kind of share the brands, but also authentically, right? I'm not going to just go with a brand that pays me to just get a paycheck. That's not my values and ⁓ ethically that's not who I am. So it's only gonna be brands that I consume or obviously my family and friends. ⁓ And so I don't know, I feel like there's that Spanish speaking, you know, missing piece and gap as well with companies and brands and their messaging for consumers. ⁓ Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I think there is such an opportunity. I I'm located in Arizona. We have a lot of Spanish speakers, right? Native to Arizona and from, you know, migrating to Arizona. So the name that came to mind is Marina Shavaro out of Miami, how she's always doing content in Spanish. And I love that, you know, I think that's so important of you have to be able to reach your audiences in ways that they want to be reached. So whether that's the platform. Violeta Morris: You Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: the type of language that you're using or even the dialect or the language that you're using. So I think with dieticians and nutrition experts, we can lean into the skills we already have and that can differentiate us. It's not like you have to go out and learn a whole new language. Think about what skills you might already have. So you are bilingual. So why not lean into that and creating an opportunity for you to help your patients by just honing in on that. Okay, let's move along here. Okay, science. I love science. We always talk about science on the show. Violeta, how do you use science in your day to day? Violeta Morris: Yes, so I definitely am still a science driven dietician, even though I'm functional medicine. I think what I love about kind of my private practice and the doctors that have referred me a lot of patients already, they're looking at insulin resistance, right? So even though the continuous glucose monitors were FDA approved for a long time, just with people with diabetes, they were still using it for patients that did have this insulin resistance pre-diabetes. But I think as a society and as in the US, we need to look at the root costs of what is going on in this person's body. And I think data, there's so many data tools now available in 2026 that I think continuous glucose monitors are only going to continue to evolve. And I still see that as a science kind of evidence-based backing recommendation for patients. And it's easier now than ever because there are two continuous glucose monitors that are over the counter, the Stelo and the Lingo. So they're still on label usage. It's just we're looking at patients to kind of act now versus wait five years or two years later where they do have that pre-diabetes diabetes diagnosis. So that's kind of my empowering tool for patients to see their numbers. ⁓ But I also want to point out like it's been interesting when I left my job. my Libre roll and started seeing patients more directly, there was just an interesting kind of aspect to these devices where I'm like, ⁓ I'm going to see all these people with insulin resistance, high blood sugar levels. And then I went back to one of my doctors, Dr. Hauser, and I'm like, look, I'm seeing a lot of low blood sugar levels. with the... food intake recall that I give to patients, they're under consuming calories. So let me tell you that these devices are low and they're not low in a good way. They're low that these women, particularly women, are under nourishing themselves. And that is a problem that I think we need to address with these patients and saying, look, you're seeing the data. You're telling me you're fatigued, you're tired, brain fog, you don't have the energy. We need to eat more food. And so I think that tool has been kind of really empowering. And it's more of a love for me to continue loving on these devices. But people need data. And I think they're more open to kind of meeting those energy needs that they need to have ⁓ with these devices. So I still think that they're evidence-based. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I mean, I'll tell you as a mom of three and working full time, I can't tell you the amount of times that I have skipped a meal, forgot to eat, ate a scrap of ⁓ a bacon on my way out. Like, because sometimes you just get, there's so much going on. So I do think not only continuous glucose monitors, which I feel like have gained some traction and I agree with you. I think there's going to continue to see more traction there, but there's so many different health tools out there that we can use to support our nutrition recommendations and to guide our nutrition recommendations. I'm curious though, so when I've heard this is all anecdotal data, you know, there's some people who are driven based on data. So they see a continuous glucose monitor, they're like, ⁓ man, I'm dropping my blood sugar every day at two o'clock because I'm not eating lunch till really late. And there's other people that, Violeta Morris: Mm-hmm. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: would that turn them off on their health? Is it almost, or is it too much information that then they get more controlling? Have you seen the different ways that people respond when you are starting to use some of these technologies? Violeta Morris: Yeah. Yeah, that's a great question. think people that have eating disorders should not wear them or at least at the beginning for sure because if they're already concerned about what they're eating and then you add one more data tool that spikes with blood sugar levels are expected to happen because we do eat and so the threshold of what how much you should go up depending if you do have diabetes or you don't. Most people that are wearing them that I work with now don't have diabetes. So I think it would just be a risky tool to introduce and I would caution patients to wear them if they have that concern. But I agree. I think it just depends on the person. Do they want to wear it once and just see like most people kind of it's a 15 day tool. So most people eat the foods and the behaviors that they have like the type of coffee they choose in the morning. or their late night snack. So I think it's so easy to kind of like already learn those trends and patterns to make changes. So I think even just one time wearing it, but I do caution people that have eating disorders. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Yeah, no, I think it's a good call. And it will be interesting to see how time evolves because we know that health technologies are continuing to grow. know Melissa Yeager was on our on my podcast earlier talking about my fitness pal and how that is just one tool in the toolbox. Right. And so I think continuous glucose monitors are just another tool in the toolbox that we might use with some patients, maybe not all. So you built a Violeta Morris: Thank you. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I feel like it was a pretty successful career at Abbott being able to transition in roles and it sounds like you've learned a lot in all those roles and continue to have fantastic mentors such as Andy. But what so far has been your favorite? Is it opening your own practice or is there something else that you feel like is your favorite or you're most proud of impact that you've had in your career so far? Violeta Morris: Yes, so I think having a sales role as a dietitian, mean, that was the job that, to be honest, like paid the most when I left my graduate degree. And I had great benefits, a company car, one president's club. And so those are nice trips that you get for being a top performer. I knew that a number in terms of a salary was not for me. I wanted to spend time with my family and my kids where there's no money that pays for that. I am the most proud person to say that I quit my job officially like two months ago and I don't look back because the patient care that I get to see every day, I get hugs now like in a different way, right? I used to call in doctors and the impact that I had seemed bigger because the product reached more patients, but it was also very sales driven. It was meeting quota, meeting a number. And now with my patient care, I don't have to introduce a continuous glucose monitor for most people or for some people. ⁓ But then I also like, I see the satisfaction of helping patients at an individual level, which I think my heart desired as a dietician. And it's sad to say, but I think I would have gone private practice route from the beginning, from the beginning, instead of chasing the sales number and sales ⁓ salary. Don't get me wrong, I learned so many things about sales and like networking that I think it would have taken me longer, but I am really proud to have quit my medical sales role to open up my own private practice. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Well, and I think you are facing a challenge that in a women dominated profession in nutrition, many people are facing, right? Especially if you're a millennial Gen Z where you're in the age range where people are having children and trying to balance working, having kids and wanting that. And so I think that's a really tough decision for people to make because Money obviously can buy things and buy experiences and buy daycare costs, right? Like there's things that we obviously need money for. And so I think it's on an individual role of where in the hierarchy is it. I know I faced this personal challenge too of, yeah, do I want to move up? Well, yes, I'm interested professionally, but at the same time, I'm not willing to sacrifice time with my kids and my family. And so that's where I'm at right now. And I, I'm Violeta Morris: Yeah Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Luckily able to have very frank conversations with our leadership in terms of that. And I think that's a, it's a really hard, there is a no easy answer. It is such a case by case basis. So I'm glad that you feel like now that you're on the other side, you are enjoying that and not looking back. I do think that's a really good perspective to have and good insight for people who. are tinkering this line that they want to maybe open a private practice, but it's scary. It's scary to go from a full-time salary to, don't know. I don't know what the future holds. And so, yeah, if you didn't check out Kara Harp Street's episode, I highly recommend it as she talks about those transitions into private practice. And then she ultimately left private practice to go at Oatley. And so it's just really interesting to see those dynamics throughout our career changes. So. Violeta Morris: Yeah. guess. if Yes, and I think it's a stage, right? It's a stage of life. Like where are where am I today and where can I have control with my time? And I think it's important to point out like the support systems like my husband and I know if you're a single mom, it's probably a lot harder for you to quit your job and go and open up your own private practice. But I think having a lot of things in place, the insurance model route, I'm always going to vouch for it to create accessibility for patients to see a dietitian. But then also insurance coverage is so amazing. would say network, whatever your niche is, network with those reps that are selling the same topic that you are because I think they're more than likely to bring you up. Like one thing in my sales role, if you don't mind me sharing, is we would bring dietitians from the hospital system to come join our lunches for many reasons, because it elevated us as a partner in healthcare versus a sales rep. And I think that's one thing that I did phenomenal in my role is, look, I'm not gonna be a sales rep. And I think my sales role was becoming too salesy for me, but I think... leveraging another dietitian part of the health system to come join me within their own health system primary care offices, just elevated. So I think that's a good tip for any listener that wants to get in the private practice or already is in the private practice and want to increase your patient recommendations, work with those reps and see if you can come along and that way you don't have to pay for those lunches. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I I'm all for including dieticians in any activity. I know my brother's a dermatologist and we kind of go head to head in terms of nutrition because he's like, no, you don't necessarily need nutrition. I'm like, yes, you do. You have to work with dieticians. It's helpful for your patients, right? And so I think, and it also helps those dieticians get more visibility in whatever practice they're in or the hospital or their facility. So I think there is a lot of options. So you've given us some nuggets of advice along the way, but do you have any other tips or suggestions that you would give for someone who is interested in starting on practice? Maybe give some tips on how do you take insurance? What are the first few steps that you have to learn to be able to go that direction? Violeta Morris: Yes, so I owe a lot of my credit to my mentor. She's been my mentor for 12 years or more than that. And Dr. Landy Lee Gonzales, so find yourself a mentor like her. But I think just asking for help, like especially if you're starting out in your you haven't even graduated. There's so many people, dietitians I want to give back. Like, I would say use LinkedIn as well. ⁓ That is like such a key driver to If you are already a dietitian and you want to sales role, then network with other people in that profession that have those roles like so easy to do the search button and say Abbott, Freestyle Libre rep in Dallas and you will be shocked. There's going to be other reps and even if they're not dietitians reach out to them because sometimes I think dietitians at Abbott at least and other professions. I know I see it with the company you work for, National Pork Board, like they value dieticians. And so I think ⁓ one, that's amazing that they do, right? Because it wasn't probably a thing in the past. So I would say network and then to answer your question about insurance-based model, there's a lot of things that have to come into play. You don't just quit your job and say, I'm going to get an NPI number. I'm going to build a website. It just takes time and I prepared a year for it. So I recommend that you kind of there's so many great dietitians that also do this for a living in terms of how do you build a private practice? I would say invest that money. You have so many options, so find out who else had worked with that particular person to see their personal feedback. But I say you don't have to do it alone. I think there's so many great resources that if you can afford to pay, you will move faster in getting to that finish line sooner. You could do it without it, but I do value kind of different programs out there that say what they're supposed to do in terms of helping you create a private practice. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Yeah, I think there's a lot of dietician ⁓ expert resources and mentors out there. If this is an area you want to go, I know I brought Lucille Bessler on the show and she has a whole bunch of mini modules on insurance and billing at a low cost. So there's a lot of dieticians who want to help both in monetary costs, but then also free of just being a mentor, right? Like if you just started, look up to people, but then also give back. to the next generation of folks who want to get started in that. So I think really good tips. And I loved your tip where you were saying, you worked for almost a year to build this up. This was not a, what I want to really convey to people is it's not like you shut one door and the next door opens the next day. It takes some groundwork and framework to be able to be successful in that next path. Would you agree? Violeta Morris: Yes, I agree. think another thing that I was willing to give up, because I think you can't do it all. I think it's so hard. I think we think we can and don't get me wrong, I'm sure we can. But one thing I wasn't ready to do myself with my private practice is the billing. And I know so many dieticians decide to open up a private practice and do their own billing. But to be honest, if you look at how much a biller costs, and if you could see one more patient, I don't want to I didn't become a dietician to do admin work, I became a dietician to see patients. And so I think knowing that if you're flexible there, you're going to be able to see more patients and see the revenue. ⁓ So that's kind of one tip is ask for help. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: I am getting better at it. But man, I need that. I need that bulleted all over my room because I I'm a yes person and I can't say how many times I said yes and I need I continuously I'm trying to work to delegate out because there we can do it all but we don't need to do it all and we can use and leverage our resources to be able to maximize what we're really passionate about. And so you're really passionate about helping people. And so why would you make Violeta Morris: you Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: waste time on not being able to do that to free up more of where your passion lies. So I think there's a lot of powerful storyline there. Okay, my favorite question. If you had a crystal ball, what do you think is coming next in nutrition? Violeta Morris: Yes, I feel like everybody that has been listening already knows what I'm going to say, but I think it's going to be personalized metabolic health tools such as the continuous glucose monitors. People want that data. There's so many tools already out there that are giving you data, but I think we're just going to see more health outcomes with continuous glucose monitors, more individualized approach. kind of even wish that it would be a kind of a my fitness pal and a ⁓ lingo merged together in terms of more awareness of one thing that I kind of provide my patients is ⁓ giving them like a calorie amount of what they need in a macro distribution where I know continuous glucose monitors give you the your glucose graph but I think it's still missing a lot of personalized attention so I really want metabolic health to be ⁓ you know, something in the future that we continue to evolve. So that's kind of my take on it. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Well, you're the first one to have that. And I love that take because I think, you know, as a scientist myself, there's so much that's happening internally that you can't and you won't be aware just on the exterior, right? Like we can do nutrition focused physical exams and we could get generalized lab work, but that doesn't really tell you what's happening in the day to day and the minute by minute. And so I do think some of these health technologies and health tools like a continuous glucose monitor will continue to give us more information of what exactly is going on and what foods are making an impact on whatever outcome that you're most interested in. So I can't wait to see. So you're interested in like a my fitness pal at a, know, continue this glucose partnership. I'm interested in how do we merge like AI tools with our phone? Like how could our phone be almost our continuous glucose monitor and our aura ring and our Violeta Morris: me. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: Right? Like all these things where I could basically have full metabolic profiles that are happening every minute. Probably pretty invasive, but I mean, how cool would it be? Violeta Morris: I would love that. I would love it. Yes. You don't even need to wear a CGM device, right? You just have your phone right next to it. It talks about your stress, like, hey, go on a walk. Like you're yelling at your kids too much, like, you know, little things like that. It's like so many things affect blood sugar levels. It's not just food and exercise. It's stress and sleep and hydration status. Like, so yes, I love that. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: It's what you just said, provided me. So sometimes I get on my feed about being a positive parent. So I'm millennial parent and you know, this is all about a gentle parenting technique, which is very different than our Boomer parents. And sometimes you're in the middle of gentle parenting and you're just like, all right, gloves are off, gentle parenting is gone. I need serious parenting right now. So it's just funny. Like sometimes these tools are there to maybe alert us, right? Like what if I was... Violeta Morris: and Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RD: gentle parenting and I started to have an increase in blood pressure. Maybe that would alert me, say, okay, get back to the gentle parenting. So really fun to have you on the show, Violeta. Great storytelling. And if you like the show, make sure you like, subscribe, leave a review, but most importantly, check out the next episode because every episode I bring on a new dietician and nutrition expert to tell their story. So thanks again. Violeta Morris: We didn't love it.